Thick Skin

I want to love you fiercely Even though it scares me and I know I'm not supposed to say this stuff yet That I'm not supposed to get In over my head But I am afraid that I already am Because I am up to my neck In your water And I'm not afraid to go under For I have always loved to swim And I don't see anything Dimming This light between us And it is dangerous To jump right in Hard to summon The courage to just know To leap, to go Hurdling over the edge To make the solemn pledge To throw yourself into something good When it's safer to stand where you've stood But knees shaking Heart aching for more I've thrown myself over And I'm wading in your water Do you hear my heart beat? It can't be too discreet I can hear it echoing All around me And my lungs Are flooded But somehow I can still breathe And your water is so deep But it's like I said - I've never been afraid of swimming.    

I want to taste your skin Again I want to bite your lip Pull your hips Close to me as I wrap my hand Around your neck and I want to run my fingers down your sides I want to lay my head on your chest where your heart resides I want to hear it beating harder And faster I want to look into your eyes As I slip inside And watch your pupils swell I am under your spell I want to listen to you cry out my name I want to stoke the flame Inside you Want to see those eyes burn blue I just want you on me or under me Want your body on my body I'm counting the hours Until the days and the nights are ours To seize When kisses float free Like a summer breeze When you will encompass me Completely

Her skin is like silk And I wilt Like flower petals In her image because touching her is a privilege I love to make her blush Because she laughs when she gets flushed And the sound of her laughter Unbridled and full of soul Is a sacred time When she doesn't mind Losing control I miss her smile so much How everything she does Breathes life into everything around her The world seems softer Less hard When she shows her stunning heart How fortunate am I? To watch her thrive In the light To watch her delight In simple pleasures And life's most precious treasures I am watching her fall in love with herself As I am writing poetry, and she didn't need help But I think she is starting to see I hope that I am reflecting Back to her who she is to me Run wild young beauty Across the countryside of Italy I am a world away, but so close still Just beyond the window sill Across a blanket of stars I am never far From your heart

The way I feel is magic It transcends all logic It moves me It soothes me It upends my thoughts For you are a catch to be caught And I have found you in my arms And found my heart unarmed Ready and beating Open and pleading For you. And the scars On my heart Have healed  To reveal A canvas unscathed For I am bathed In sweet sentiments Swept away by a current Knee deep in a sea Of adoration where my feet Don’t touch the ground I am suspended and all around Me there is love Within, without, below, and above And you are all around me Singing softly Flooding my head With things I will never forget Moments like movie scenes That people only ever dream That they will have And I have had Them with you And everything feels brand new When you’re with me You are effortlessly Wondrously  Indubitably The woman of my dreams.

When your head is a mess When you are stressed About what might be Let me be your remedy I will settle in your palms like sand In the riverbed with gold yet to be panned Give yourself over to the mystery When your mind begins to worry That you will only disappoint me Know that I will fight I will ignite The fire inside you Until it burns so hot it turns blue I want to be the exception I want to change your perception Of what it means to love And be loved If I have truly changed your heart forever Then let me take this four-leaf clover Let me test my luck Let me leave you awestruck By the way I care for you Let me undo All these misconceptions Hidden in the subtle inflections In your voice when you speak Let me traverse the valleys, climb the peaks I do not give up easily Have faith in me For I feel you in my bones Ache for you in my soul With every beat of my heart I start To understand everything Every sign that makes me believe That you are meant...

She is somewhere in the sky And my heart has never been lifted so high Flying through the clouds where my mind Resides Now that I know her Letting my thoughts wander Through gardens of wildflowers Through forests in the thick of a wildfire Whether delicate Or passionate She is vibrant Her spirit runs deeper And somehow higher Too than any other I've known These flowers, these fires have grown She is blooming And burning All at once And I just want to dance In the flames as this world I thought I knew Goes up in smoke, and this new Feeling that has been given to me That holds so much meaning Emerges from the ashes And it washes Me over with euphoria And my heart gives way I am in your sway.

I close my eyes And I am reminded Of your soft skin The way you call your freckles constellations And I am drawing a map with my hands Connecting stars Drawing hearts On the small of your back Getting lost in your galaxy In your anatomy And these memories wreak havoc On my mind in the best way Never thought I could feel this way Wondered if I would hold you like this If I would feel your kiss On my lips In the morning You came without warning Like wildfire Spreading faster and higher And I am up in flames As you lay claim To this heart of mine As these stars align Beneath my hands

You are a wildflower Growing endlessly across rolling hills Blooming in the spring Painting a canvas of color across the earth Bees swarm you Birds flock to you Soaking up the nectar of something so sweet So delicate and neat You do not skip a beat Through rain or summer heat You are there Bathing in the light In meadows In beds of green Beneath the trees And you bring joy and beauty To the world You are fragrant And elegant People will stop and stare To wonder, to dare To appreciate something  That is breathtaking That is so beautiful It’s almost painful  And maybe they will cry  Until the rivers run dry Because they’ve never seen one Like you Never seen someone do The things that you are capable of When you share your love  Like wildflowers

I left As the city took its first breath  of morning And I am scorning these bridges for Letting me get closer And the sending me further apart From you and that heart The mountains are calling out to me Be steady but the birds are calling too and I just want to fly away with you One thing I know for certain Is that the butterflies in my stomach are fluttering Because you have been so sweet to me Dripping honey Off of your tongue With every song you’ve sung I carry your music with me always The way your body sways When you walk The way your lips move when you talk The way your hair frames your face The way your eyes chase The sun on a summer day I am carried away With you, Mary

I’m here and I am wanting you Whether you decide to take it all the way up Or you want to lay low For so long I thought it mattered To have someone belong to me But now I understand the true meaning Of the word belonging To have an affinity For some place or thing And being with you is as natural as breathing And it isn’t comfort Because my heart is exploding  Every moment We are together When you touch me or sit closer My mind will run wild With possibilities But what a beautiful thing  That is To be adrift With these thoughts of opportunity I am grateful for your presence I cherish your words Your sighs The way you blink slowly in the night And I just want these simple things I want you to sing In the car with the AC on And the windows down Music blaring Soul flaring With a spark in your eye Ready to fly Free I just want to be in the passenger seat 

I hope I give you crows feet From smiling Too often I hope that when our eyes meet Your knees go weak And your body grows heavy Because you mesmerize me The way you talk The way you walk The way you brush my body When you stand beside me To let me know you want to touch me The way you smile at me subtly In a room full of people I am the one That you look at like that And every time you turn your back I will follow I will swallow All my fear Just to be near You and your heart beating Because it feels like I’m cheating Fate If I don’t give in to the way You move me And I don’t even know if destiny Is real but I know this feeling is And it’s just too strong to dismiss 

I’ll play my guitar in the morning light While you sit at the piano and write I’ll keep to myself when you need time And I’ll love on you until you feel alright I’ll let you call me beautiful If I can do the same I’ll lay in your bed with wild hair untamed I will sit with you in the early hours When you’ve awoken And the rest of the world is still asleep I’ll keep Your secrets In the dark I’ll safeguard Your heart I’ll take all the vulnerability And cherish it like a fine wine I’ll get drunk on those lips I’ll kiss Every waking inch Of your beautiful body I’ll make you see the beauty In yourself I will clothe you in the wealth Of my affection I will never leave you wanting Do not hide Your fears Your worries Your doubts Feel the power of letting them spill from your mouth I want to know all the things. The dark and the light And I will not judge you I will fight For your honesty Your transparency I believe in yo...

There’s so many things I don’t know That I crave to learn So many places I’d like to go To watch you burn Brighter than the sun I want to know the curve of your back Your voice when you first wake Want to hear the very last track On the mixtape you made When you were seventeen I want to know the insecurities The things you think are flawed I want to harvest honey from the bees That swarm your thoughts I won’t let them sting you You talk about yourself sometimes How you wanted to be a mess Wanted to be punished for crimes To which you could not confess Be unafraid of being put together  For we are falling apart In the best way As we bare our hearts I want us to say Everything that we know to be true And I know that I am falling for you. 

I sprinkle your words in my world Like stars That light up the dark They illuminate the ceiling of my room When I lay awake at night wishing I was with you I leave this window open  I let your voice sweep in with the wind And it sings In the night air And it brings A smile to my face And it’s all so simple And yet so complex Because I know The flecks of gold In your eyes Better than I know my own and I Just want the best for you I just want somebody to Give you everything you ever wanted I want you to be inspired and never haunted By the things you once convinced yourself that you could not have I want you to feel alive With every passing breath With every morning the sun sets In the West I hope you clutch your hand to your chest I hope your head will come to rest On my shoulder And you will be happy.

I’ve stolen your sleep And I’ve threatened to keep Your heart in my palms And not betray it You urge me to say it When I start a sentence and stop We will not waste a drop Of the ecstasy  We feel in each other’s company The doors are wide open  The possibilities are endless and I’m hopin That the promise of what could be  Is lingering just above me Still without my reach But yet so close that each Time I close my eyes I imagine the rise The ascension of you and I And the stakes are high And I’m ready to fight But I will hurry up and wait Because I would hate To waste something great In my haste I like you so much that’s it’s hard To stop my heart From pouring out And I know this isn’t the easiest route To take To make You feel the way I want you to  But I’ve traveled more difficult paths Than this And I will survive this one too I hope it leads the way to you