"Whatever is true, honorable and right; whatever is pure, lovely and commendable - If there is beauty, anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Phil 4:8
I can't say it was love at first sight
But my heart skipped a beat
When we stepped outside the smoky room
to breathe
Was it the dizzying sound of sudden quiet
Or the halo around your head cast by the street lights
On our way home
That made me promise to see you again
Quickly scribbling cryptic digits on a matchbook cover
Call me, I said, before I forget
Before my eyes see what my heart refuses to see
The brain will fill in the blanks
Later.
I closed my eyes and thoughtof the things I have not lost
While giving so much away.
I thought,
My roses and camellias
can go another year
without pruning.
Forgiveness comes so much easier now .
Learning to do things differently,
Without drama, no neuroses, no subscriptions, no limits.
Unconditional.
Truthfully, however
I will struggle at the thought
of losing your friendship.
It will hurt not to see you smile,
Or talk proudly about your children
And your children's children.
How I envy your joy.
You don't have to ask.
You can come knocking on my door
anytime.
So, we looked up at the sky
like expectant lotus flowers
waiting to be quenched
by the moonlight
We stretched out our necks
as the moon
grazed our cheeks
with a goodnight kiss
There it is
waxing new moon
behind a breath of clouds
fooling with the shooting stars
Quick make a wish
if its the one thing you have to do
Quick make a wish
tonight is like no other night
I breathe a prayer into a wave
Curling, and folding
It promises to deliver
My hope for you.
Where did that message go
Did it hurl itself on a rock and break into pieces
Melt in the sun
As it fell behind that straight line in the horizon
Did it paint the evening sky
An accidental hue of your favorite blue
Did the message reach your shore,
Touch your sand
Drown in the deep swell?
Did my poem fade in the iridescent glow of
The moon,taking a silver arrow hostage
Then pointed to itself?
Songs are fond of grand announcement
They say: Here I am poignant and demanding,
Sometimes familiar like the disappointment of first love.
Often they tell the same story of evening stars, repetitious
And insignificant,
Taking no particular new journey
Just bumming around in the galaxy
I wanted to give you the music of the ocean:
In it, a rhythm you can recognize,
Be blown away by its crescendo, or lulled by its whisper
I wanted you to hear.
If you listen closely you will know
That the water came to swallow me
And I surrendered: Curled and folded
In its blue embrace, then
Hurled onto a rock and broken into pieces
Swirled in the water, splintered, golden and speckled:
I melted with the sun, then painted
The sky vermillion,
My hope for you.
