Love demands action
the butterflies are worthless
flittering from corner to corner
Let them out of the cage you have made!
They will no longer suffice trapped
if you want to love me
Do so

faces made fuller by the painter's hands
life imitating art in a makeshift studio
captured moments of unlikely canvases
hues accentuating the humanness of design
strokes of pigment embellishing creation

how nice it is to be close,
to say in confidence
"I am loved and have loved"
while sunshine seeps slowly, onto
your bedroom carpet
as I giggle and you sigh

An old soul means nothing to a young heart
and yet you mean everything to me.
Someday I'd like to grow lavender for you
and watch as you gasp and pour out gratitude
watch as the sky turns dark
and Dickinson smiles

An orange glow envelopes you,
cascading warmth.
I like to walk with you in step
so that effusive light may bleed onto my skin.
I like to live life
perched on the fluttering monarch's wing.

curled laughter peels out of me
doubled over with crinkled eyes and dimples
driving too fast; corn to our right, soy beans to our left
music filling where my grin cannot stretch
nothing's ever too far when you're in your hometown
nothing's ever too far for you

My mind is choked by pleasant memories
how could I ever be glum with you as my companion?
Something so rich about childhood innocence
something that leaves us smiling
a familial bond that cannot be crippled
strengthened by holding hands
strengthened by sharing smiles