I'm sorry I didn't recognize you.
(Those few years between might as well've been centuries.)
It seems you were just the guard rails on a bridge I burned a long time ago.
I should have hung on.

Clouds as black as a dead
Display embrace the ash grey
Eternity of overhead
Evening heaven-space.

Thunders like legions of Harley-
Davidsons roaring through the
Nearby woods, making
Windows tremble like

Nervous alcoholics under the
Weight of their own empty
Bottles of loved ones' patience
And own dead pride.

The gods are angry tonight.
But so am I.
I open my mouth to the deluge.
I open my soul to the storm.

I get drunk on tsunamis. I fill
Up on snacks of tectonic plate
Movements; pass earthquakes,
Waving vulcano clouds away

From my face, then inhale.
My breath is atmosphere.
My pulse is symphony.
Earth is the rest of me.

I'm as shy as a god.
As humble as the devil.
Marillion tunes; seaside
Stones shaped by brainwaves

Form an absence of need.
All I want is change.
These are my thoughts.
Now show me my penny.

She removed some clothes
So the hug would
Take.

The innocence was more intimate
Than ***.
Finally held, safe from enemies

On all fronts. I served my time
As a human shield,
If only

For seconds, as sharp claws
Let go and warm, caring hands
Didn't.

°

I'll be summer sandbox for you.
You be child for a while;
Rest as only kids can;

Lulled and safe, drifting away
To the sound of adults talking
Softly

So you'll sleep, despite the fever.
Warm with sofa, blanket,
And *little.