My dream began
with a pronoun waking  
in the morning light,
followed by a verb  
carried in the wind
from across the lake,
as the adverb
whispered a preposition,
adjectives modified
a proper noun, and
I sailed quietly
to your beautiful name

The sunrise betrayed the furnace
pouring heat into this atmosphere,
beauty deceives in pinpoints of fusion
spilling light on these nights in silence

We are all made of stars - we burn within
this core, unreached and untouched
as science fades in its approach -
Who can test the mystery inside?

take the next exit
after the full moon, and
turn right at the end
of losing yourself
in the next song,
then ask directions
to the best place
for watching people eat
their favorite food,
where you’ll find me wondering
how long it took to find
the pleasure of your company
as I hand you a compass rose
open to the direction
of our hearts breaking
over the horizon

Tonight we walk
around the merry
go round - for 29 years
colors change
but we don’t
get off

Zodiacal signs shift
zones of time through
zephyrs swirling
in our breath - distance
zips down to zero

Whenever you emerge
catching a breath of air -

I will submerge,

to the twist of an urge
fulfilled with a flare,
whenever you emerge
at the summit of a verge -

without a care
I will submerge,

ready for your surge
with a gasp of air
whenever you emerge
your strength is purged -

with a tug of your hair
I will submerge,

until our breath has merged
our souls aware,

whenever you emerge -

I will submerge

dialects of dogma in the corner
coffee shop - I recognized them
too easily, as an expatriate  
heard clearly in the crowd across the square,
where I’d rather be blending in,
forgetting my mother tongue, speaking
an unknown language, written
by the dust of my boots, learned  
through the salt of my skin, weathered  
as the pages of my Bible are worn  
and consumed alone  
with God in the corner  
booth of this coffee shop