i often dream the dreams of the used
sea salt, dragonflies, the moon
echoes of your laughter
the residue of your sticky breath on my face

in my dreams i find you again
you come to me often in the form of mist
an ever wandering song
endless and boundless in melody and joy

you creep across the valley
along the stream and into my presence
sweeping in between my toes
circling each one
like planets in orbit

you bring with you a pulling
and from the pulling
is drawn the One
surrounding you like starved seagulls
bobbing its head up
like fish in a fish tank

we all become welcome
in his home in the forest
this sweet lord with arms long and countless
dances with us all
as the sun goes down

i fall asleep to your laughter
the sea salt, the dragonfly, the moon

this is she
a lucid memory, like red ribbon
in a slipstream of longing

she finds herself painful to watch
like a man protesting his obvious obesity
ridiculous really

often she delves into her thoughts
face first, hands extended
moving back and forth, fingers spread

trying desperately to move something
to somehow change these sharp dynamics
ease the pain

she grasps in vain, she knows
its like a needle
penetrating the storming sea

everything goes on, steadily continuing
yesterday melting into today
obliviously cruel

we dance by the fire
endless in love
warming our hands
we send violent prayers
up to our god

we sing for the trees
for the flowers, for the birds
moving like water
graceful and soft, disturbing nothing
our footprints forgetting to leave their mark

we whisper, just for fun
and listen as the earth
belly laughs at our foolishness

we step closer, heavier
louder, wider
smooth is our song
wild our dance
warming our hands by the fire

i run, only to keep my feet from going numb
i'm hardly a shadow in your presence

the girls are singing now, soft and high, in the clouds
you are breathing out the breath of color
tangible, pliable color
blue, purple, green

i wish you wouldn't
it's hard to run in puddles of brown

i saw her sitting in a thistle patch, up the mountain
she was dressed in wool, despite the hot humid weather
in her hand she held an ivy tree
which grew, over time, to wraps its arms around her

when i looked back, you had turned into water
still running
your colors spewing erratically now
diluting as they ran down your sloshy body

(why on earth must i run through this mess)

i watched as your fingertips began to pour out water
a thin transparent stream

the girl in the ivy won't stop crying
and the voices in the clouds are falling further and further
out of key

muddier, wetter, slower i run
up to my shins in your product

minutes pass like days as you decide to laugh
a piercing, rhythmic laugh almost in slow motion
flailing your fountain arms about
like rubber snakes

it's then that i stop
standing silently and stiff as a board
knee deep in murky water
i breathe two heavy belly breaths
and you're gone

in the wake of your fallen leaves
i've made my nest
singing softly as i undress
sliding slowly into your hideaway

swallowed whole into this mossy bundle
i stretch and mold
configuring to the shape of your lips
your surrounding, moving lips

the wind inside our home is warm
starting at my ankles and dancing upward
slowly, slowly
telling secrets along the way

you've made me a sun, here inside
a perfect glowing sun
one with eyes that watch over us as we sleep
hidden from the world

listening to your duet with ms.wind
i rested
thank you for the dance
for teaching me the art
of fair exposure

my limbs melted into yours that beautiful day
i sat with you as the sun was swallowed up by the ocean

we swam to india and back
bringing from it only the sweetest of stolen treasure

we built a boat and there we made our home
our children were our sails

we made each other wings
and took turns braving the storm

i'm learning to love
these intimate days
these quiet days
these quivering hollow days

i'm realizing there may be some hope left
in this world for me

my silly flowers
are blooming
right before my eyes
and without my conscious permission

it's incredible to refuse to will my happiness into existence
to watch as the trees give off love when i touch them
to feel my soul expand like a sponge in water

you are more
my love
now
than ever

more beautiful
from every angle

more enchanting
with every word

the memory of you
sharpens

you are more
my love
now
than ever

"glorious is the moment we sit in the palace, you and i
two forms, two faces, but a single soul, you and i
the flowers will blaze and bird cries shower us with immortality
the moment we enter the garden, you and i
all the stars of heaven will run out to gaze at us
as we burn as the full moon itself, you and i
the fire-winged birds of heaven will rage with envy
in that place we laugh ecstatically, you and i
what a miracle, you and i, entwined in the same nest
what a miracle, you and i, one love, one lover, one fire
in this world and then next, in an ecstasy without end"
- rumi

i awoke this morning
to the ocean at my door

to the ground full of holes
left by the footprints of my soul

they say she's a gypsy
that her feet melt into the earth

that her spirit lives in the trees
and her hands dance the dance of magic

i awoke this morning
to fire in my room

to the ground filled with song
written on grassblades with dew

i found her in my driveway
at the end by our cliff

there she sang
there she danced
and there she kissed my face
with magic

i wish my kiss could cure you
of the wounds from a friend

my noblest efforts
have left you sadder still

oh my love
the sun it shines today

bright and blinding
dancing on the rooftops

out my window i can see you
the cement turns to grass under your feet

i'm watching as you move
as your colors change and evolve

keep walking my love
for today the sun it shines for you