when he kisses her
he is begging, pulling, pleading
he is asking her to accept
        every bruise, cut, scar—
        every dark secret she will never know—
        everything about himself he cannot quite accept yet.
but when she kisses him
she is giving, she is promising
she is telling him that, despite
         all the scars, bruises, cuts—
         all the secrets she may never know—
that she still loves him, even when he cannot love himself.