there's nothing like the wind at my back,
pushing me forward,
augmenting my strength,
decreasing my time
and building my power higher,
it's easy.
but it is the headwind
against which i become stronger,
faster and more able,
it is the resistance against which
i push, strive, hone my senses -
it is against struggle where i define myself.

a smoky melody plays inside my heart,
bits and pieces,
a note or two given by a friend,
a shared experience,
a lover gave me a measure,
tragedy supplied a blues refrain,
and i spent years trying to find the hook,
that part you can't get out of your head
but have to sing over and over,
like a skip in the vinyl.
and just when i think i find it,
something new and unexpected
comes along and changes the tune,
until at last it will simply be my life,
set to the music i love.

my lover's touch -
a jolt of electricity through me each time,
even when it's simply holding my hand
or a quick caress of my cheek -
a magical element
that entices me
and hold me as willing captive,
drawing me closer,
at once aware of the both of us,
our wants and hungers,
the secret needs that live just out of range of telling,
but we know, anyway.

there is nothing
i live for
more than that moment
when you wake
and catch me looking at you,
smiling with your eyes
as we say "good morning."

sometimes i like
to watch the coal barges
go by slowly,
and imagine they are
traders from another land,
traveling great distances
to see these shores.

i know it's not true,
but it makes the mundane,
the ***** and wretched lumps of coal
seem as though they are exotic spices,
or silks, or precious jewels,
arriving just so i can get a look at them.

inhale:
good air,
rich and full,
fresh,
vibrant and lively.

exhale:
toxic,
used up,
empty,
worthless and needless.

who know life could be so simple as this thing we do unceasingly?

i wish i could stop it all -
the pains and slights we cause each other,
the struggles and the hurts
i see people enduring -
i would take it all upon myself without
hesitation,
carry the weight of the world,
bear it all,
if only because i can.
but even superman hurts,
and try though i might,
the world hurts too much for me to carry,
and i can only take so many cuts away from others before i bleed.
i must choose whom i can protect,
who needs it, when, and how,
and when to let them know that being superman hurts.