I'd rather have you break my spine, than knock a thousand times.

I will keep you caged between my ribs
Don't try to crawl out, don't scratch your way out.
You're in the gentlest of places.
Knock once on my spine if you miss me,
Knock twice if you're going to sleep.
You can play with my veins, my arteries
And send warmth to the soles of my feet.
I can make you a swing tied to my clavicles
To and fro as you listen to the lubbing and dubbing of my heart.
If you're tired of it, I could stop the beating.
Knock a hundred times if you no longer want to hear it.

You can wander around my bones
And leave traces like maps on my flesh.
And I'll follow them with my fingers against my skin
So we could wander together -
Your hands, my fingers, and the bundles of muscles between.
If by night, you're still awake, you could take a walk in my skull
But then for you, it would just look like a house of mirrors.
Maybe you could dig in deeper and see what you could find.
Just keep it as a secret between you and my head.
Can you promise me that?

You could tell me stories to kill time.
But I can't keep you entertained for long, can I?
Knock a thousand times if you want to leave.
I know I can't keep you caged forever between my ribs.
But I will keep the strands of hair you have shed
And the scent you have left and pretend that you're still in my chest.
People might think I'm having trouble breathing
But it would be just me inhaling deeply and exhaling carefully
So I could taste you again under my tongue and between my lips.