"Be Gentle With Me" I Say To Myself, Or To My Thoughts I Want To Detach Myself From Them Thought And

Summer, I would have an affair with you I'd run away with you Drive down to the harbor Grab your hand Start running And get on whichever ferry Came next

I think I see What others see in you, Summer, Your carefree breeze Mixed with your quick Hot temper Is admittedly alluring

Summer, You would tempt me by the beach Would we even make it Back to the motel? You're hot and steamy Like the air Before the thunder cracks And I might need you Suddenly

I'll kiss you On a private boat dock Out where the herons nest Where the cattails grow Where ducklings learn to swim Closer to the bay Where no one knows us

Did you know that you are of me, Summer? As the grass is of earth As limbs are of bodies But also As phases are of the moon And waves are of the sea

Summer, I would run away with you But just for a little while Please don't call my name Or breathe love in my ear We can take your car With the windows rolled down But we wouldn't last long Beyond the heat

River, you ran through me I, the earth, the soil Quiet and soft

So were you, you brought Your herons and their Nests, you brought your Guiding bends, The frogs that peeped Like a lullaby into dark sky

I made room for you In places I had been dry And steep, I let you in, You helped me heal, you made Waterfalls, or rather,

We made the waterfalls, And you made it safe for water To splash down, unharmed

River, when you touch sand You will meet the sea You will go where I cannot But you brought life to me,

Where there were rough cracks There are now reeds and moss And dragonflies

Leave me like a brook, Clearly, slowly, on rocks Glittering under the sun, I, the earth, am changed, Come twilight I will hear you River, flowing into the ocean

But there's a spring now, Fresh water will come And you have helped me trust it

If I fall asleep now Will we pick up where we left Off in last night's dream? Lips finally locked In a desperate homecoming A desire, a longing Come to labored fruition

Maybe when I sleep I'll return to that Mountain where we folded Effortlessly into each other Where we dropped pretenses And indulged in a fantasy That left me on waking

If we can't exist In this humbling reality Then let me live in My dreaming with the Alternate us, the version Of ourselves that overcame All our worldly obstacles

If I fall asleep now Will you meet me there? Come out of your dream into Mine, let us talk, let us Speak our unspoken uncertainties Of our comforts and the truths We've held on our tongues

Meet me on the water Where we drifted on our backs Where an alternate us floated Contently in the forest lake Where a ripple effect kept us Closer together, meet me Where our dreams still collide

Make me a home inside you Build me a room With a lock and a key That you keep on a chain Around your neck

I have been a wandering soul But cage me and keep me With fire and fervor I am yours, I am yours In this room you are mine

Make me a home inside you Build me a room Of blackest obsidian For I am molten I could so easily melt you

Here is my hand. Hold it, touch it, embrace it. The hand that reaches out for you Is a solid hand, a steady hand, A writer’s hand, A lover’s hand. It is your lover’s hand.

The hand you hold Is the hand that holds you. It is the hand that dries your tears, The hand that grazes your lips, The hand that is gentle with you, Strong with you, Passionate with you. It is the hand that is with you.

My hand feels you. My hand feels your heartbeat, Your breath, Your tension, The heat of your skin, The release of your stress, Your desire. It is the hand that desires you.

My hand alone sometimes trembles. Sometimes it is lost, Sometimes it is scared, Sometimes it’s unsteady. My hand is cold without yours, My hand needs yours to grab, Its fingers locked between yours. In your hand my hand is safe. Your hand is safe in mine.

Your hand is my hand, And mine yours. Where your hand goes Mine goes too. My hand goes with you. My hand is always with you.

Solitude, How you serenade me With your silence.

The gentle lull of the day, Songs in the night.

Sing to me Your symphony of Rustling leaves And howling winds.

Bring me only The call of the coyote, Close, never near.

Simple solitude, I sleep to the sound Of only you.

Never again could I love Anyone as I do you, Fellow poet

Because with everyone else Poetry has been My mistress

And with you, we share her, Together we have Moaned her name

I slip into my skin Like slipping into A favorite sweater I am the nurturer Inside my own body A home and hearth Tranquil and secure My body is a warmth I am warm here I am so very warm

A little nature once in a while To break the trend of Love and other inward feelings

Show me a canyon Not that one, not the grand one Show me a regular canyon With water still flowing through

Show me the red of its walls Like a prehistoric mural Of erosion and persistence

Nature moves on, you know This earth shrugs us off We destroy it and it destroys us Nature breaks us all down

I still wear the Unique intimacy Of your kiss On my lips Like a Soothing balm

A love recipe Designed and made Only for us That I keep In a jar Only for myself