Ten Years Later

Our love is 

the last two matches 

lit in the darkness 

of a blizzard. 

Terrifyingly precious 

and fragile, 

and worth the risk 

of getting burned. 

We must protect 

this love 

with all we have.

Maybe

Maybe,

one day,

my words will come

unbidden 

to your mind. 

Maybe 

you will whisper them 

as a prayer against the darkness, 

or sing them 

to your sleeping child. 

Maybe,

one day,

my name will be 

the mantra that you exhale, 

or the echo that follows 

every heartbeat. 

Maybe 

you will hear my name 

in a crowded room, 

or in the absence 

after a book has closed. 

Maybe. 

Manifest Destiny

Manifest destiny, density's tears,

martyred by destiny, lost all those years.

Singed by the flames that were born of desire-

that's what you get when you play with the fire.

Written in stars, then the stars they got crossed.

Searching for home, but resigned to be lost.

Waiting for history, lesson unlearned;

begging for change that has yet to be earned.

Two Years

Two years of giggles by day, cries at night,

months of no sleeping at all.

Two years of pleading with heavens and man,

waiting for footsteps to fall. 

Two years of rationing rational thought,

hoping that surplus will grow;

two years of baby steps, bargains with God,

resigning myself to the slow.

Two years of leaving my heart in your hands,

and wearing your scent in my hair.

Two years of listening hard for your breath, 

not breathing myself till it's there.

Compass Rose

Somehow, it doesn't matter which way I turn,

Whether the sun is on my face or at my back,

No matter the coast or shoreline I'm seeing

Every direction points me to You.

My BFF (Best Former Friend)

In my version of the story,

I'm still wrong. 

Half-truths were your first language,

and I believed them all.

Well Armed

Fashion yourself 

a blade 

from my love, 

and use it 

to cut down 

the demons 

that whisper 

your insecurities 

in stereo.

Inconceivable

Some things that shouldn't be, 

inexplicably are. 

It shouldn't snow in April,

we should never lose our children,

and phrases like "on fleek" should not exist.

Some things that ought to be,

inconceivably aren't.

Innocence should last longer than a decade,

shoes should be fashionable and stylish,

and I should be with you. 

Some things that shouldn't be,

inexplicably are:

Christmases should never be green,

we should never lose our wonder at this wide world,

and nobody should have to live in fear of violence.  

Some things that ought to be

inconceivably aren't.

Coffee should be both hot and palatable, 

tears should never come unbidden, 

and you should be with me. 

Sleepy

Home is where I sleep:

A full night's rest, undisturbed,

Nestled next to you. 

Epilogue

The story is over, 

but that doesn't mean 

I have stopped reading it. 

I have whispered each sentence 

into the night, 

until they were tattooed 

on my soul. 

You told me once 

that the greatest love stories 

will never end. 

I believed you. 

Where's the epilogue? 

Oxygen

I admit it, 

Love,

it is growing 

more difficult 

to hold my 

breath.

But having 

inhaled you, 

I cannot 

let you go. 

Whatever the Weather

Sometimes days are dark as night, 

and nights refuse to end.

Some roads traveled seem so smooth,

until you round the bend. 

Sometimes sweet, it masks the bitter,

sometimes the bitter wins.

Some days grace is overflowing,

some days are marked by sins. 

Some times clouds blot out the sunshine,

some days sun breaks through.

But every day, in every moment,

I'll be loving you. 

A Mess and A Masterpiece

You 

are a lovely mess 

and masterpiece 

all in one.

Do not expect your fellow man 

to be without flaws, 

and do not despair when he discovers 

the chinks in your own 

carefully coordinated armor.

But do not settle for a man 

who holds the door open behind him, 

rather than in front of him. 

Do not settle for a twenty-first century relationship 

when you deserve an everlasting love. 

Don't settle for a honk from the driveway;

wait for the doorbell to ring, 

for the flowers held in outstretched arms. 

One day you will find someone 

who looks at you in a way 

you never knew possible. 

Find that man, 

that laugh that creates harmony 

when it joins your own. 

Because my darling, 

you are a mess, 

and a beautiful masterpiece 

all in one. 

And you deserve the best.  

Secondhand Shine

You said my eyes were 

brighter than the stars, 

but I looked at you and knew 

you were only seeing your reflection. 

And even if I never have 

another speck of luck,

you loved me once,

and that is enough. 

Do We Not?

And do we not live in 

dreams?

For you 

are the blurred line between 

awake 

and asleep. 

You 

are the exquisite bliss 

that tempts me 

from slumber into morning, 

and beckons me, 

once again, 

to bed. 

Haiku for You

And I am always

warmer under your shadow

than in my sunshine.

For Amelia

The scientists tell us:

every seven years 

our bodies destroy 

and regenerate each cell. 

I have known you in many lives, 

each piece of me has loved 

each piece of you. 

But.  

In a few years, my darling, 

I will have shed every part of me 

that you have touched. 

I will be completely new- 

someone you have never known. 

I wonder, 

will these new cells be oblivious 

to your absence? 

Or will they too learn to ache 

with your loss- 

the void they have never 

seen filled?
I cannot imagine a life
spent not missing
You.