You were born near the warm ocean,
grew up around there,
With your clear acrylic smile
and sun-kissed blonde hair

I, the winter cold
More north than I can remember,
We met that day you visited,
a brisk chill, that December

We drank and danced,
while the years passed over
Argued and grew apart,
our greatest fears, now sober

My memories of you, once treasured
Now, faded
as sun deprived lands complain,
Forever, jaded

•~

we are 
push and pull

both beautiful 
and ugly

what we are
lies primarily in the timing

~•

And then
quite unexpectedly
the sound of your laugh
unties the knots
I have been keeping around my soul
your eyes
are intense
and I’m scared
don’t make me regret this

please.

“Hello.”

nothing would make me happier
than to hold your hand for the rest of our lives
grow old with you
and watch our grandchildren play under
the magnolia trees in the summer sun.