Phantom

listen
for a voice in the wind
to speak your name,
an invitation
to anchor you in this moment
that belongs to no one
but this moment

reach
for a growing thing
to feel its pulse
between your fingers
a validation
of a life
connected

walk
for as long as it takes
to see with shuttered eyes
the path to the water’s edge
a homecoming
through the soles
of your feet

yearn
for the white iris
to unfurl before you
revealing its cavernous depth
a seduction
that whispers
to the gnawing hunger

pause
for the aroma
of that which feeds you
to seep inside the hollow places
a prelude
whetting your appetite
to be sated

a phantom limb
will awaken
a reminder
that a withered spirit
severed from the body
can too be awakened
to all that is

River Road

a river, swift and dark
creeps closer to an asphalt ribbon,
the one with a parallel name

one raindrop, joined by others
a watershed gestating until eventually
it has no choice but to unleash its torrent
scattering remnants of sodden lives
on unfamiliar shores

the fine silt of our ancestors
a button, a bone, a seed
or the shard of a porcelain cup
once carried in the belly of a ship

i want to dangle my fingertips
in the frigid water
absorb the memories as they float by
before dissolving
into a gulf, a sea, an ocean

Cooking

I stew about the “rules” of poetry,
wondering if my pot of words
is sustenance
or merely palatable.

This whirl of letters
and punctuation,
metaphor and imagery;
a rolling boil of expression

that if tended
with a patient and loving hand
will simmer
to a fine consommé.

Enough?
Or would you care
for a second helping?

Waking at 4 a.m.

I dream of dancing
until the dizzying effect
of being waltzed around
the floor wakes me

and I lay there, in my bed
wondering how gravity
took hold, again

in limbs that long to sway
to glide in the arms of another
taller, stronger dancer

than me

Party of One

clench, unclench
swallow bitter, black coffee
rub the tender place
just below your earlobe

repeat in silence
until the cup is empty

crease, uncrease
the morning paper
mark the tender place
with a smudge of newsprint

give voice to the words
that glide under your thumb

at a table for two
she looks up and sighs
Everything is just fine,
she whispers under her breath

A question?
A wish?
A prayer.

Between Heaven and Texas

Daily, I search for the horizon,

food for my soul.

Daily, my gaze is halted

by ridges, dense forests, foothills.

Daily, my spirit seeks to rest

under a cumulonimbus cloud,

soaring 40,000 feet

between heaven and Texas

A copy of Texas Sky by Wyman Meinzer was placed in my outstretched hands on Valentine's Day. Thank you Linda for a most thoughtful, kind and loving gift.

Luckily, this book has a slick dust cover. Tears roll off nicely when I pine for the horizon. Sometimes, I walk around with it clutched to my breast. Silly you say? The words of Texas Parks and Wildlife Director, Andrew Sansom sum it up nicely,

Our identity as Texans is tied up with the sky, and our belief that anything is possible flourishes in a place of endless horizons and unobstructed access to the clouds and the stars.

Next week, I travel to Texas. You can rest assured whether twilight or day, I'll be basking under the endless Texas sky.

Beautiful Together

When leaving
take only
what the heart
can bear:
one soft, sweet kiss,
one long, reluctantly
relinquished hug,
one lingering gaze
awash in smiles
and silent tears,
two hands so tightly
clasped, unclasping,
letting go and waving
as we disappear.
When leaving,
take only
what the heart
can bear
and hold the rest
in memory
and hope.

Too soon…
too soon my love you drove away.

As we wound down the mountain,
I searched for your taillights through streaming tears.

You stopped at the bottom waiting,
for one last glimpse,
a final wave,
a silent I love you,
but I didn’t see you,
your sweet gesture of farewell.

Isn’t life like that…
how looking right instead of left
can change the landscape?

Had I looked left,
my heart would have leapt
and my body followed,
racing into your arms so full of love,
and yes,
and everything
good, and
fine, and
true…
everything I have prayed for.

Too soon…
too soon my love we parted,
streaming tears a reminder
of the taste of you,
the spice of you,
distilled in the perspiration of passion.

Soon…
soon my love we will be reunited.
I will wait for you at my door
with streaming tears of happiness,
arms, and
eyes, and
heart flung wide.

Until then,
know this to be true…
This woman loves you.

My Love Flies Swiftly

My love flies swiftly over mountains and streams
searching for you,
swirling around you,
embracing you with invisible arms,
my arms...
which ache for you
my lips...
which long for you
my heart...
which swells at the very thought of you.

My love flies swiftly over mountains and streams, its scarlet feathers piercing brilliant blue sky,
catching an updraft with its escort the hawk, who loosens its talons' grip softly,
gently dropping my love
into your day.

Everything in Readiness

Everything in readiness
Awaits your coming.
The night is soft
The stars are hung
The owl calls low
And listens for you.
My door is open and inviting;
My heart is wide and hungry.
I will savor you slowly
One lovely bite at a time.

Soon

Fatigue has settled into brain cells
into eyes turning grittily in their sockets
into muscles reluctant to stretch and contract.

Fatigue has trumped exhiliration for the moment
has lulled senses into uneasy truce with hormones
has softened all the glistening edges of desire

But still my heart is singing, skipping,
Soaring high above the boundaries of fatigue;
My giddy pulse is pounding, "Soon...soon...soon"

Stealth Lover

Were you here,

you would feel my tender touch of assurance on your cheek,
the gentle embrace of reassurance in my arms,
the soft whisper in your ear of dreams yet to come.

Were you here,

you could look in my eyes and know
these are more than mere words
on a computer screen.

Were you here,

there would be no need for questions or assurances,
for our first touch, first kiss, first tryst
will cast all doubts away.

******

Ah, sweet woman, I was there.
I came in the night while you were sleeping
and sat softly on the bed beside you.
I watched you breathing, slow and even in the dark.
I brushed your hair back from your face
the way a mother would and traced
the smile lines 'round your mouth.
I took your hand and held it up against my cheek,
your fingers curling into mine and locking.
I gently kissed the little hollow of your throat,
so baby-soft and unprotected as your tender underbelly.
I briefly leaned my head into your shoulder
and memorized the sweet, seductive smell of you.
Your eyes were closed and hints of dreaming
fluttered underneath your lids.
I could not look into them,
but I knew what they would show me;
I knew what they would say
and I believed them.
I was there, sweet woman,
and I will come again.

******

My stealth lover
has come to me
in the night

She gifts me with
her gaze, her touch,
her caress

I thought I was dreaming
when I awoke
to our scents co-mingling

I thought I was dreaming
when I awoke
to my skin tingling

My stealth lover
has come to me
in the night

I am grateful
this twilight interlude
was not interrupted
by my snoring!

Once More

Tenderness…soft and supple
as the petal of a rose
rushes in

My eyes follow the gentle wash
of sunrise
as it dances across your face

I become the sun, warm
sweet on your skin
coaxing you from dreams

You stir…I rise
You reach for me
and once more,
I come home in your arms

Bodies entwined…souls aligned
we breathe the same breath
effortless rhythm of lovers past

The sun clings low to the horizon
but has no master
and will too soon shake you from peaceful sleep,
you will leave this sanctuary

once more,
you turn your sunflower face to me
the lightest, softest kiss passes between us
as lips brush across lips

In the stillness of slumber
you pull me closer
drawing breath from my lungs
in a moment of suspended truth

But the sun must continue its climb
or surrender to time
and I must leave the work of the sun
to the sun

I raise my lips to your ear,
whispering three times the name
I know as love

Your eyes open slowly to a new day…
once more.

Una Morte Bella

if i had but one hour to live,
i would spend it
looking in your eyes

a veil of lashes playing hide and seek over
smoky blue-green irises
a darker halo encircling them
pupils advancing and retreating
as the unspoken passes between us

and when the moment came,
i would brush my cheek against yours
and gently kiss the corners of your mouth
as we share my last breath

if the final hour came tomorrow
or a month from now
or 50 years from now
would you grant this last wish?

Bring Me Safely to Shore

The ancient lover in me
will forever cry out
for the ancient lover in you

I can no more silence it
than hungry rocks
silence the foghorn

Let my lament be the mariner's
guiding star
in the dark of night

Oh ancient lover,
bring me safely to shore
for it is cold and I am trembling