A map

If i could 

number the stars

in your eyes

they would be

raindrops and paint

spun off a wheel

to count them

follow butterflies

trace a map

etched deep

in grey-blue lines

on my scalp

and then wait

let the hair grow

playful waves

hiding. . .  only just. . . 

beneath 

playful 

fingers

scruffling me

Root

I want to hold your brittle hand...
to feel your jagged pulse in mine
Let it take ensiform root in me 
A redwood destiny, in seed
Threading full my every vein
Leaf and branch, burst up and back 
Unfurling sail and hollow wing
for our journey from this elder world,
To home. . . back to our home. . . 
White roof above, our roots below
As you water me with kiss sweet 
My toes drink greenery, damp and deep
As I am your old silver skinned tree
I hold earth beneath, as solid vow
And storm above, will breach no bough
I give you my shade, my sweet green sea
For you, I whisper, as I sing
I sing you song of leaf and branch
as I stand, 
I stand for you.

The color of wildflowers

Did you sleep well?

Did your body bloom with relief. . .

wild flowers in the moonlight

My fingertips sowed then into your beauty last night

Tilled muscle and skin until they sighed in relief

And then in the dark of your room. . . 

stretching toward the unseen moon

little buds peeked out, 

yawned with a tender uncurling of leaves,

and the colors came. . .

the little white blooms, like snow blossoms

shy blue droplets of sky and sea

bright yellow joy, shaped as tiny lions calling to the moon

the valleys of your back held tense a moment, 

a sigh of relief at the end of a torrent of rain.

and then the million unnamed colors of love

the kind you saw when you realize in a daze

that our love had thwomped you on the head

and you briefly feared that you might never, ever

see straight. . . 

ever again. . .

Yellow Petals

We learn each other with time and laughter

We hold one another in mind and breath

Our joys more numerous than lights

in the river of stars above

our city of night

pushing blossoms to the dock

pushing gulls on a salted wind

When you hold me, I want

nothing more than to be wood

smooth and cool to the touch

like the green forest air

When I close my eyes, I know you

on the tips of my fingers,

like soft yellow petals

growing through the concrete

Together

My beautiful darling, my perfect lover, my dearest. . .

As we get closer,

I might laugh a little too loud,

You might eat a little too much,

My joke would fall flat

Roses! Wine! Sweep you off your feet!

As our lips embrace,

Perhaps I kiss a little too hard

You might poke me a in the eye

I might snore that night (it was wine after all)

Ah, but the moonlight inspires romance! and love!

I forget to hold a door for you

You might pick your nose more freely

I kiss you with my morning breath

I will not always be handsome

and you will not always be beautiful

and love is mortal, as are we

But I give you my awkwardness, 

 my romantic heart,

  my forgetfulness,

   my poetry,

    my strange body,

     my devotion,

      my neuroses,

I give it all to you. . .

I'll will always make you smile,

and when I am in your arms, 

I will always feel warm

for what is love, if not an agreement to see each other

to really, really see each other, 

and still our eye shine,

our lips curl like clouds in the wind, 

and we sigh, together.

Haikus Dreaming

Dream of you last night

Walking along the water

I am your warm scarf

When you are in need, 

I am your man. I am oak 

place your back to me

From you, I only

steal glances by the millions

return them often

Dream my hand in yours

warm, firm, and we are ready

the whole world is ours

Place your hand on me

Feel my solid heart, beating

Leaping to meet you

I hold you close, with

my whole heart, both hands, fingers

crossed, and arms open

Kiss me like a kite

caught on a tree in a storm

free me, welcome me.

For you are my moon

the moon that makes the sun shine 

and the oceans burn

Let our branches grow,

and brush, and touch, and tangle,

until our storm. . . comes

Night slips by our bed,

tangled, we blissfully dream. . .

magic, in our skin.

Sunlight on Water

Look at me, my love

I am sunlight on water,

because I have you :)

Look at me as I look at you

You are moonlight

cooling my hot skin

We are two hands, clasped together

Fingers mixing in warmth

as sand dancing beneath the waves

fish, flick their silvery tails

donating scales to star our endless blue

And when we part, as at times we must

I'll reach you with a loving pen

until nightly, we find 

our way together again