Thick Skin

You're standing in front of the freezer. The cold air creeps out slowly, a veil of white mist enfolds you. Drapes itself over your hair and cascades down your back. An ice water bride. I am watching your body move. Curves. The winding roads. The rolling hills. The crescent moon - and you. All belonging perfectly and effortlessly to this earth. All beautiful and wondrous and magical. Never out of place or unappreciated. Your very existence is poetic, in the same way that sunsets and hummingbirds are. Dancing on dimly lit bridges in the middle of the night and pulling me close to you when it's cold.  Your body is intuitive, soft, full of motion and music. An abundance of joy flows from your fingertips, your lips, your thighs, your hips. Music is within and without you. It pours from you like wine, from your enthusiastic hellos to your solemn goodbyes. Your body is a catalyst of energy, of light of love. And I know it all by memory. Every freckle, every curve, every source of inse...

Thinking back to when I first met you It felt like the first time in years that the world seemed still The planets aligned, the trees breathing Birds singing and my soul was healing I wasn't looking for answers, or more questions But I ended up questioning everything I was thinking about the natural placement of galaxies How vast the spaces must be between two worlds Between two hearts How hard it must be to know when you might meet someone Who will change your life forever I'm glad I didn't know I'm glad that it happened organically That I was pulled into your gravity Thrown into your orbit, and stayed And somehow everything just is Somehow it all fits Your hand in mine Your lips on my lips My heart lives within your chest I'm trying to question less all the time Because when I don't everything seems to fall into place The way you stop to inhale the aromas Of the wildflowers by the streets The way you dance in the kitchen The way you scream in cold water The ea...

In the reflection of the black mirror on the wall My arm is delicately balanced between your head and your pillow Your mind swimming through possible solutions Through a sea of emotions Riding the wake of wave after wave of loss and grief Too much for one mind to keep But we live in this world now The upside down Where everything that you thought was, isn’t And everything that wasn’t, is How do you deflect the storm? The barrage of little deaths? This land where birdsong doesn’t seem to hold the same tune It seems all the world has turned down the volume On the beautiful, wonderful things There are no voices singing No rejoicing in moments of joy or gratitude And we’ve turned the volume up On sickness, hatred, anger, racism All in the name of freedom Our voices seem louder than ever No wonder we’re tired Every nerve is raw, every word is flawed No matter how lightly we say it No matter how kindly we place it Something always seems out of place I wonder if the earth itself is off its ax...