Unfurl, and
Altogether bloom
I am now open to you
Warm, I can
Spread out thick
Fine and ****
As though turned to sugar sand
I only have a velvet “yes”
Jumping at the gate of my lips
I only have clean hands
Held out open to you

I would be your lace enclosed
Dewy Irish rose
Your wide eyed
God-fearing wife
I would scream and taunt you,
Echo into the country night
Just to keep your tongue wet,
Your muscles used,
Red and tight
I’d tell you we need
Three ivory linen sheets
One to practice,
And perfect our technique
Two to plant
Each poppy seed
I’d fill you full
Up to the brim
Present to you my golden hair
To lay down all your worries in

If this black,
Blood red,
Billowing fire
Could rage any higher
Burn up the oxygen
Your false words selfishly syphon
Convinced they require
It would be a mighty
Heavenly force
Indeed
But within the grand canvas,
Quite a minor feat
For theatrical,
Impassioned,
Merciless me
Never so kind
As to stop at your feet
I’d bury you alive
Cut holes for your
Lying
Eyes  
Force you to watch
The horror of melting earth and trees  
The irony  
Of the rain so closely watching,
And choosing to leave

I do not have much
Of your arms, or legs
Or fingers,
Enclosed,
Or opened wide
I do not have much of your naked eyes
Pooling wet around the green,
Specked with golden fireflies
I have not many of your lines,
Remembered well
Much less memorized
Much better
Is every word you tried
To skip across to me
A smooth stone from the lakeside
So that maybe
I could see the signs,
Come to know your heart
In my own way,
On my own time
Once I settled in with the crickets
To play the flute in our goodbye,
The saddest melody,
My only lullaby

I hold too much water in me
There’s too much space to swim
Or so I’m told
An infinity of things that can go wrong,
When there’s that much room
For strange plants to grow
And who knows how far down it goes?
Or if the people in the village
Nestled right in by the waves edge
Would lose it all
If the tide came in too close
How in heaven,
Could we entrust our sons,
Could we entrust our boats?
After all that rocking and thrashing
After all the unpredictability she’s shown?
We’ve trashed and traumatized her sand and foam,
Left her thirsty and lapping at the shore she owns
Now she’s just a bit too close
A bit too vast to predict
Or control

Loose ends so frayed,
Tie mine,
And I’ll tie yours tight
I’ll cauterize the fibers,
So they stick together
Like kisses on a humid night
We swirl, and combine in a bowl
Raw sugar and spice
Wrap up together and find answers in time

I’d love a neat little package
With our names scratched on the wrapping
Telling the story of us
How only now
We’ve just figured out
We’re in love

As soon as I left,
I’ve seen you every day since
If I warm the bottle in my hand,
Slowly take a sip
I can still hear the river at night
Taste the juniper on your lips
That nervous glass would have me fooled
Shaking,
And just as full to the edge
With things to give only if
We’d allow ourselves to