everything shimmers.
the undertow tugs at my feet.
unseen,
the pebbles move
beneath
the waves
as they pull away.
everything shimmers.
the undertow tugs at my feet.
unseen,
the pebbles move
beneath
the waves
as they pull away.
light shimmers.
like memory,
it searches for
form in the long
withdrawing waves.
reflections fracture.
the surface is vacant.
something ignites,
a teardrop of faith,
and we gather courage
to look upward.
only for a moment,
enough to say
we dared,
enough to think
we too
might be gods.
peonies bloom in the yard,
we cry in the dirty hour,
telling what hurts and what heals.
echoes drift up in plumes,
holy and wide-eyed.
A shadow circles above,
patient,
like a memory
that refuses to fade.
It moves across the raw skin
of morning,
giving way to dust,
unraveling, and dissolving
into dawn’s breath.
The day collects the remnants.
I fade into the half-light,
without a distinct shape.
I wait for the earth
to call me home,
but sleep arrives
first, thick and complete.
i pressed a leaf
between the pages of a book
in a chapter i
haven’t read yet.
it was a dark purple leaf
with crimson veins
from a season that has already passed
from a season i wanted to keep
saved in a timeless moment,
like a child laughing at
the rain.
a child who hasn’t grown jaded yet,
always curious,
and free,
always feeling safe
even in the unknown,
at home with questions,
questions wrapped up in life,
and life itself held as a question.
i began to wonder
about the melody
you sang
then
the bird became
quiet
a cloud
too graceful
to be gray
what do i know
about grace
you are gone,
time cannot hold on to what it once held.
you’ve seen this before,
somewhere
we were together here,
just like lovers are,
unseen by anyone.
you drift away,
lost in dreams.
gone
but time still brings you back.
lovers remain in time,
in dreams.
memories still kept close.
you and i,
lovers kept in time.
i woke up to blue skies
and noticed how gently everything moved
as the pine trees swayed
out on the horizon.
my tea is black
rich and strong
i try to sip it slowly
the mug is hot
against my lips
i do not remember
if yesterday was the same
or if the day before
was any different
now, i’m not sure
if it even matters
today the sky is blue
tomorrow it might be
dark gray all the way to the horizon
and when the gray
stretches on and on without
any definition
i’ll remind myself it doesn’t matter
and that tomorrow
it might be deep cerulean
endless from the earth
to the heavens
When I was a child, I copied
the way you moved
and I would ask,
What should I call you?
I tried to find
a word I hadn’t
learned yet,
a word beyond
what a child could understand.
It was something unfamiliar,
Now, as an adult, I still
find myself asking,
What should I call you?
There are no gestures now.
I don’t understand
That’s what it means to grow older.
This is a shadow,
and this, too,
is part of life.