Madonna

The first time I saw you, 

pink and screaming, 

I knew everything I'd ever 

known about love 

had been wrong. 

Every time I had 

told someone 

I loved them 

I had lied. 

I had meant it, 

sure, 

but it wasn't even in 

the same universe 

as the ache I felt 

when you grabbed 

my finger 

and settled, 

still wet, 

against me. 

The first time I saw you, 

silent and lily white, 

my heart stretched 

and filled 

until I thought my chest 

would break into a million pieces 

and become the 

constellations 

in every midnight sky. 

I had loved before, 

yes, 

but I hadn't known 

a heart was capable 

of loving 

so many things 

so fiercely.

The first time I saw you, 

wide eyed and open mouthed, 

I knew that 

I would pour myself out- 

give everything I had 

and keep on giving. 

I knew nothing 

about you- 

this tiny giant 

so new to the world, 

but I knew that 

everything I was 

would never be enough. 

You made me yearn 

to be more. 

Aladdin

Be my Aladdin, love, show me new worlds, 

take me to star-gazing heights,

sweep me away, hop a carpet, we'll fly

to bask in some breathtaking sights.

Be my Aladdin and open my eyes, 

show me things I've never seen.

Just take my hand, I trust you, I do-

we've done this before in my dreams. 

You, my Aladdin, are more than you seem, 

my own private diamond in rough, 

You claim you're no genie, but magic is yours-

you change every thing that you touch. 

Deserted

I always thought 

you 

were a cloud: 

weightless 

and spotless 

and just out of reach, 

but you have 

never been air 

or water, 

and 

the sky 

has never held you. 

You are a desert, 

and 

I 

have always 

been the rain. 

Worldwide

The world is so big, 

darling, 

full of places to 

excite your senses 

and inspire imagination. 

The world is big, 

darling but 

my favorite place 

has always been

next to you. 

Without You

The world goes on 

without you, my love, 

the sun always rises 

in early morning oranges

but it is a darker place 

without you, my love,

and the sunsets are 

grayed by sorrow.

The oceans remain

without you, my love,

the tide still teases

each sandy shore salty,

but it is a quieter place

without you, my love, 

and the seagulls are 

silent with longing. 

The mountains still stand

without you, my love,

the peaks still scrape

the bluest skies white,

but it is a harder climb

without you, my love, 

and the air hangs thin

with weariness. 

The stars will shine

without you, my love, 

the moon still reflects

the bright sun, 

but it is a colder place

without you, my love, 

and my hope is as

distant as stars. 

The Goose's Song

I yearn for fall, cooler weather, 

a bite in the breeze and a chill,

I want to feel that same shiver 

that dances my body with thrill.

I need to see the leaves changing, 

to know that some things stay the same.

I wish the warmth of my body 

was felt due to hearing your name. 

I want to hear the geese calling, 

a love song to Autumn and me,

they know the thing about fall is, 

it never comes perfectly free. 

Above/Below Par

And I still 

cannot decide, 

even after all 

these years, 

if you are 

an absence 

or a presence-

If the ache 

in my chest, 

the squeeze 

of my heart 

is too much or 

too little 

feeling. 

On the Run

Little boy lost, black dog on the run, 

looking for trouble as if trouble was fun, 

searching for some thing, or maybe some one,

when all that you need is at home.

Errant explorer, your compass a- spin, 

searching the skies for what's found deep within,
headed to somewhere you've already been,

tell me, Love, why must you roam? 

(It's a dog eat dog world and you're still so ambitious,

chasing black cats like you're unsuperstitious, 

muzzle still wet, and I'm just so suspicious.

Come on now, throw me a bone.) 

Let Me Love You Dammit

A Giving Tree I'd be, but I'm so unseeded,

I'd rise to occasion, but I'm so unkneaded, 

the best of advice, I remain so unheeded,

I wish you'd just let me be there. 

A listening ear? Call me Horton, I'll hear you,

I'm gravity, kid, I just want to be near you, 

and time is the only thing we need to fear, 

you must know that I'll always be here. 

Everything Haiku

Everything I am-
everything I strive to be-
it is all because of you.

Everything

Everything 

you need 

to know 

about me 

is said 

in this simple 

truth: 

somehow, 

for reasons 

too mysterious 

to name, 

he knew me. 

Everything

I needed

to know

about him 

is said 

in this simple 

truth: 

somehow, 

for reasons 

too mysterious 

to name, 

he loved me. 

The Best Things in Life

Some things, once broken

can't be put back together.

But some things can be. 

Authentic

So we live: 

unspoken plans and 

wide awake dreams, 

never daring to say 

what we actually mean.

 

The Hero

When you return, 

wrinkled and weary, 

with an empty stomach 

and a full backpack, 

it will be as though you are 

a conquering hero. 

I will wrap you in my arms, 

raise you to my shoulder, 

ply you with good food 

and let you lounge against my chest. 

I ask only for a story in return, 

my darling, 

of the mountains you have climbed 

and the monsters you have vanquished. 

What is a hero, after all, without an epic tale? 

Who

Who do you become, 

when you leave the past 

in neatly packed boxes? 

Whose life is it, 

freed from the receipts, 

playbills, 

pictures that proved 

you were here? 

When your favorite sweater 

warms someone else's shoulders, 

and the bear 

you whispered secrets to 

lays on someone else's bed, 

who do you become? 

September

It is September, 

which is to say, 

the leaves are changing, 

which is to say,

they are dying so beautifully,

which is to say, 

this is the beginning of the end. 

It is September, 

by which I mean,

it is time for sweaters,

by which I mean, 

the air kisses my skin red, 

by which I mean, 

it is our season again.

It is September, 

which means, of course, 

apple pie for breakfast, 

which means, of course 

making sweet things from sour,

which means, of course,

goodbyes are not forever. 

It is September, 

which is to say, 

I'm leaving soon,

by which I mean, 

I'll miss you, 

which means, of course, 

I love you.