the palm of a hand predicts the length of a life and the chance at a love and the compatibility between unexpected persons
and the back of a hand speaks the truth that the face conceals
the stub of a nail shows the stress she encounters
the scars that line her knuckles are the shards of glass that shattered around her fist, the shards of her childhood
the letters to spell 'infinite' written in faded ink trace the single word that defines her
the calluses on the tips of her fingers convey early morning strumming on her acoustic along with an inaudible voice, as her tears catch in her throat
the swelling of her knuckles indicates the often cracking into a quiet room
the beads of sweat show her fear and self-consciousness
but his hand in hers shows his affection and his pride at belonging to her and his thumb on her hand traces the marks and soothes the pain
and her tightening grip is that she finally feels protected
but she again succeeds in concealment
because his hand cups and covers hers and hides the signs that only he saw