Rules to Break - Jan. 25, 2026

the rules of intimacy

say that shaking or kissing

a hand is more formal than

a squeeze of a shoulder,

which is less intimate

than holding an arm,

closeness growing

when fingers

touch a face

with social propriety

long established,

 along comes the hug

to break all the rules

when two bodies wrap together

every sacred boundary is crossed,

two hearts are thrown close

just inches apart

as close as they

will ever get

unless love decides

to break a rib

and see what happens