River, You Ran Through Me I, The Earth, The Soil Quiet And Soft

What are the laws of nature? Can you tell me? I can only think of one That energy cannot be created Or destroyed That it can only reconstruct One form into another

So what makes a flower bloom? Did I give the blossom My energy? I assume it comes from somewhere Within the soil, the stem But let me believe I can transform Into a beautiful thing too

Ungraceful am I For grieving so publicly Bereaved, forgive me

I learned how to sing So I could talk to the birds They always listen to me Even if they don't know the words

I learned how to bark So I could talk to the trees They know all about you All about you and me

I've learned to be quiet To be still in my mind To feel the earth turn As the world was designed

The little spider Under my table Strung up a pebble To anchor its web And I am as curious As I am impressed By this mysterious Feat of engineering

I am surprised by the softness And the intimacy of this moment I had expected your skin to have Thickened and grown rough with time I am surprised by the way I remember The taste of your lips pressing on mine Taken aback by the way we fit together Again like easily memorized lines

There is a sweetness to the salt Of the sweat that forms at your sides A familiarity to the way you look Lying wanting beneath my body I had expected you to look older But the love in your eyes is just bolder Are you remembering the reason for rhyme?

I had not expected your kiss to claim Not expected any longing to still remain I had not expected you to still be mine I had only imagined you naked and true Covered from head to toe in our rain I have been pouring over you all this time But I had not expected you to still be mine

He is a kitten Licking my wounds His scratchy Little tongue Warm and wet Against my skin

Maybe for some It is too difficult Too strenuous To even think of Life filled with Softness or beauty

When forests Are always burning And the plague Is ramping up And societies are Divided and violent

Maybe some Will wonder how Anyone can find Hope these days When our earth Is crumbling down

But he rubs his Face against mine Licks my hair And I will not let Any cruelty Touch his world

December is the month In which I first read your words The month in which I first struggled to understand You, the first time I was Puzzled by your language Which made such little sense Still I devoured every Letter you wrote to me

A dozen Decembers later I still find myself lost By your accidentally strategic Wording, the way in which You hide bits of yourself In silly metaphors In carefree excitement In your strongest convictions

December is the month In which I knew the depths Of your emotions, your thoughts Before I knew your voice Before I knew your face or Your touch felt with skin Before I knew your name or story Before I knew I could break You as I myself was breaking

A dozen Decembers passed And we are both healing We are the steady stream of Lovers light, of rain rivers Flowing down the sides of the Mountains we've formed over So many years of crashing plates Stand with me at the peak In our breathless altitude

It is December again My favorite month, it's when You came into my life so Unexpectedly, like a night Blizzard, I awoke to an enchanted World, and with each new year As each holiday I have with you Passes, we have our history And our memories, we have a Bond that strengthens our Relationship, wild and tender

I shut you out Because you saw the parts of me That were broken And ugly And I thought you would leave

So instead I loved people Who shut their eyes And stayed Always hoping I would change Something permanent in me

I am with you in the morning When you are waking, Still sound asleep beside you, Cats curled around us As the light of dawn is breaking. I am with you in the evening As you begin to drift off, Eyes heavy and sleepy. Stay in my arms, I will hold you So you may rest deeply.

But soar freely, my dear, I will never hold you back As you fly through your days, Over the earth and over waves. Whether the day is cloudy or blue Some days I'll fly beside you, One of us a hawk, the other a dove. Other days I will be the wind Simply the air beside you, Or below you, or above.

Follow your heart, wherever it Takes you, to each experience That transforms and shapes you, You can take my hand with you Or leave it be. When you are done wandering And long to be held Like the sea holds the shore, Bring your weary, tired bones Home to me once more.

I will live alone Detached But I will be no spinster Perhaps instead A weaver Of loose threads That flow to me Over salty waves, making Their landing In the sands of a Beach I will never visit So the seagulls Will carry your damaged Pieces of fabric Home to me