there's nothing like
being the friend
you always wished for.

awake at night,
i think of calling you,
talking to you,
sharing the thoughts and dreams
that only come when we're too tired
to make sense anymore,
when the outlandish seems plausible,
and what is seems passe and old.
but i know you're asleep,
dreaming your own dreams,
in a world all your own,
and to tear you from that place would be cruel.
so i sit up, alone in the night,
with only my thoughts for company.

standing in the rain,
heavy drops pouring over my body
like so many tears
that have been shed
over pains real and imagined,
now washing away,
cleansing,
sanctifying the earth into which
they disappear,
and in that moment
i find the restful peace
i have been hunting.

her kiss was smooth,
a tender touch,
soft and achingly sweet,
and in her lips she showed me who she was,
all her hopes and dreams,
her fears, too,
as her very being was opened to me
in that lingering moment we first touched lips.

his was precisely the opposite.

i love the smell
of a cool crisp morning,
when the rains have fallen
and the cracks in the pavement
are still wet,
and the trees
wave silently in the gentle breeze,
as the birds flit among the branches.

everyone must be tested,
our words,
our bonds,
our vows,
our fears,
all our limitations must be tested,
to see if we have the strength,
to know our courage,
to believe in the impossible,
and to discover our purest selves.

raw animal passion,
that starts with a simple look
and surges into
palpitating hearts and breathless kisses
that leave you hungry for more -
a tryst where nothing matters
but to be whole with another,
present in every form,
no thought but to connect,
an energy that builds with each fiery kiss
and touch of skin-on-skin,
nothing exists but authentic selves,
reaching out desperately to one another,
and finding home
in the touch,
the gaze,
the feel,
the soul,
of your lover.