Of Waves and Lovers

We sat 

in the park

on a bench, 

blinded 

by the sun 

on the lake, 

making friends 

with each wave. 

“There I am,” 

you pointed, 

“and that one 

is you.” 

And we watched

as the waves

built, 

broke, 

fell away, 

came together 

again. 

Now I know
you were right:
a wave 

cannot 

change itself.
It does not
choose to crest
or dip,
does not seek out
distant sands
beyond its reach.
It is content
to kiss the shore,
draw away,
find land again.

This is the way
of waves and lovers.

Haiku 328

Wherever you go,

And whenever you come back-

I will still be here. 

Heartbreak Hotel

You are not 

a home 

for heartache, 

do not let 

the sadness settle 

under your skin. 

Resist 

the pensive pull, 

beloved:

You were made 

for more 

than this. 

Shrubbery

I have tried it all-

spent days in 

the blistering sun

trying to burn 

your shadows away;

saturated myself with 

drink after drink, 

trying to drown out 

your rustle in my ear-

it is useless.

Try as I might, 

I cannot outgrow you.

I have always been 

too little tree 

and not enough 

root. 

Wildly

Every poem I write, 

every melody I hum 

into the silent morning, 

every plant watered 

and every dish cleared 

from your spot 

at the table: 

they all tell the 

same story. 

Every single 

piece of you 

is loved, 

wildly, 

by me. 

Verdant Truth

Petals 
fall like 
snow 
from trees 
too tall 
to climb, 

and I wonder, 
what good 
does this 
silence do? 

Let 
verdant truth 
take root; 
let words 
blossom 
on your lips.  

Space/Time Continuum

All that 

I have learned 

about time 

and space 

is this: 

there is 

too much space 

between us, 

and I will 

never have 

enough time 

with you. 

Obituary

When they write 

my obituary, 

my life will seem 

painfully dull. 

They will name 

my parents, 

my children, 

small towns 

in smaller print. 

But they will not know 

my story.  

It begins like this: 

once upon a time.

Once upon a time 

there was a girl 

who loved a boy- 

a boy whose laughter 

was a question 

she wanted to spend 

her whole life answering, 

and so she did. 

What more 

could it possibly 

say?

(It’s Coming From) Inside The House

I have 

never been able 

to shut you out: 

try as I might, 

though I shutter 

each window and 

fasten 

each lock, 

every time 

I turn around, 

you are 

already-

still-

always-

here with me. 

That’s the danger, 

I guess, 

of letting you 

into my heart. 

You have 

never seen fit 

to leave. 

National Nap Haiku

Close your eyes, darling,

cuddle in closer to me.

We were made for this. 

Kiss of Death

When Death comes, 
she will come 
in the form of 
someone you have 
loved. 
You will greet Death 
with a kiss, 
saying, 
“I have waited 
so patiently, 
and now that 
you are here, 
let us go down 
to the shore,” 
but Death will smile 
and kiss you again, 
leaving you breathless 
and trembling
as only she can.

Gradient

Inch 
by inch, 
you revealed 
yourself to me: 
the translucent 
pink of your ear, 
the black mole- like 
a crumb of cake- above 
your lip, the galaxies in your 
eyes that pulled light and gravity 
to the place where you stood. There 
were lightyears in every glance I stole, 
and an eternity under your silent tongue. 

The Magician

For me, 
you changed 
pebbles into diamonds, 
milk into custard, 
pulled birds from my ears 
and found feathers in my pockets. 

You asked 
a pear to become a pineapple, 
a pineapple to become the moon, 
the moon to become a two-headed coin 
which you flipped, laughing,
for my love. 

We knew you couldn’t lose. 

Webster (Ain’t Got Nuthin’ on You)

I have searched through the dictionary: 

shallop, 

shallot, 

shallow, 

shalom, 

sham, 

shaman, 

shamble, 

the words like so many petals 

falling from a wilted flower, 

but I have never found a word 

to accurately describe you. 

You are so much more than 

black ink on white paper. 

You are so much more

than waves pressed from tongue. 

Line

It
is
a 
fine 
line 
be-
twe
-en 
a 
fair
-y 
tale 
and 
a 
lie.