all at once

the softest touch
is the skin of her lips
all at once
the source of electricity
rattling me whole
and the calm
falling over me

she is the heat of summer
and the ease of autumn
my longest journey
and my haven from the road

she is my fear of the high places
and the peak of my climb
the artifacts of my past
and the invention
that will take us there

one moment with her
is a thousand lifetimes
one drop
an ocean
one glance
a window

she is all things
and she is the one that matters

promise

have you ever stopped yourself
beneath a douglas fir?
looked up to see
its branches, outstretched
arms, held high gathering the rays of june
but also in the evening
with the sun balanced on the horizon
they reach, gently upward
trusting a sacred vow
between earth and her star
“i will always return to you”

have you ever stood on a mountain
among the junipers
have you let the blue spruce scent the air
inhaled it deeply
felt the soothing move through you
a silent exchange that requires only
the belief: “all hurts can be healed”
with a promise to peel yourself open
to hold nothing back

have you ever joined your breath
with the wind through the prairie grass?
the swaying rhythm
when you stand among their seedheads
have you given in to the ancient dance
to your ancestor’s movements
drums, fire
two hearts, attune
you’ve only to acknowledge
how needed, that cadence
and promise to let it sustain you

love comes easy
but it stays hard
easy like the river
hard like the land
easy like the spring
hard like the winter

there are no tricks
no shortcuts
only the constants
change
grow
stay

have you ever made a promise
to the solstice moon
when it hangs so low
you can feel its pull on your skin
as if you are the ocean
your tide, coming in
“i am yours, always”
“i will let your light shine through me”

we can start the journey not knowing where we’ll go

farther

it is farther
from your skin to mine
than these inches
we could measure

any distance, even touching
could be miles

flutter

flutter
beneath my chest
hands
across the table
i feel the red
around my eyes
the glistening
in diner light

“don’t be sad” you said
“i’m not”

it’s just the sunrise
brilliant sky
i see when you smile
the ocean swell
your touch
that pulls me out to sea
it’s just the absence
of weight from my shoulders
the bow of respect
ceremony of tea
reverence
for you
for me

it’s just
i’m flooded with gratitude
to be joined
with someone
i am honored
to be near

orbiting light

orbiting light
gifting the smiles of our dearest
and a flicker
warmth for a late december
binds us for another year

will you travel with us
through the unknown reach
hold out your hand
as we cross the breach?

time will be our friend
if we invite him in

a single drop of rain

a single drop of rain
holds time against the window sill
the rhythm comforts me

like your scent
as you float by me at the counter
moving from task to task

like the storm blowing through
fiercely drenching the city streets
then on to the next town

like friends from the past
who see you for just a moment
then find new faces

the drop slows
you place your hand on my shoulder
“come sit with me?”

the rhythm stops
we have nowhere to be
but together