The Soft Parts by Rose Polenzani

Hold on, Daddy, to the red boat.
Raise the bodies from the salt sea.
Bullet-heavy, you can let 'em go.
Don't you worry 'bout the big light.

I see him comin' in the darkness.
It's the captain, he's a mean man.
So I dive overboard
and go swimmin' with the cold ones.

And all, all my friends,
they say love, love is hard.
So I hold on to the soft parts.

At the edge of the cape, there's a woman and a man.
There's a woman and a man, and a young girl.
She's a young boy, she's a cray-fawn.
And her love pleats in the white sheets.

I would raise for you all the friends I've left.
I would loose for you all my father's nets.
All my father's knots I would tear with my teeth
for your open mouth and it's sweet relief.

And all, all my friends,
they say love, love is hard.
So I hold on to the soft parts.

Hold my hand, I see the blue
of the police, and they want me
to give it my best ID.

How could I know where my body had gone?
I thought you held me in your arms,
but my head floats with the red boats,
with the flashlights and alarms.

My throat is up and in my eyes
and my tongue cricks back in it's raw room.
Hear me whisper what I told her:
"I'll be rising soon."

And all, all my friends,
they say love, love is hard.
So I hold on to the soft parts.