It has been a year now
Since my vices ran rampant
I flew like Icarus among the clouds
Saw god or whoever resided there
Fell to earth in a crater of who I once was
Burned for days amongst tubes and doctors
Sweated out the best of me
prayed to whomever would listen
Reminded myself of what I was
And chose to be different

When Atlas shrugged
Tears were left in the wake of you
Monuments made of your mountains
Such a sensual embrace you gave
Such caring to this heart
I have loved you for seasons on end
The leaves came and went
But your seasons never withered
You are my river
My most holy of baptisms
Keep me in your graces
For forever and more

An instinct
This animal desire
So close to your chest
My blood moving like a freight train
I need to be close to you
Your skin meeting mine
My most tender of loves
Holding your frame
As if it is all that ever was
Let me love you dearly
Let me kiss every inch of your skin
Oh how this heart aches
To be close to you again

How this journey has unfolded
The paths we have chosen to take
I remember back to the beginning
Back to those years in Maryland
Where the coast was my most holy of churches
Those springs filled with cherry blossoms
falling from limbs like sweet cherub tears
I remember the southern chapter
That blanket of a place they call the south
Louisiana was a wild and untamed beast
The songs ran with the wind
as the rains came and went
I fell in love with a woman cradled by the mountains
Solace in the sweat that deep heat can bring
Today I am still writing
Just as I was in the beginning
Penning these chapters like a letter to a future self
Documenting this journey as if every step
was a foot in an uncharted land

Oh this love
Let me explain this love
She is from the Rockies
Free as the sun
Strong as the river
Kissed by the mountains
She curves like the bend won’t break
I am from the ocean
Timid as the tides
Subtle as the moon
Awkward as the birds
She is my rock
Solid like the lines
Sharp as a tack
I am but guest
In her most sensuous
of shows
She is all there is
She is all my love
My most timid of hearts
My most delicate flower
In this garden of woes