As a man and woman make
a garden between them like
a bed of stars, here
they linger in the summer evening
and the evening turns
cold with their terror: it
could all end, it is capable
of devastation. All, all
can be lost, through scented air
the narrow columns
uselessly rising, and beyond,
a churning sea of poppies--

Hush, beloved.  It doesn't matter to me
how many summers I live to return:
this one summer we have entered eternity.
I felt your two hands
bury me to release its splendor.

Deep in Mangroves of Calusa
Your eyes became arrows of the natives
We made whirlpools with the wind
Chasing sea cows for their breath.

Your thighs felt like my bounty
The curve of your spine was ethereal
In cut off jean shorts, wet from dripping paddles,
Each drop teased in me a feast for carnal cravings.

Your memory wears a dress of palms,
Resting beneath your delicate waist
Your face looks like porcelain beneath
My gifted crown of magnolia and jasmine

I can feel the rain that's filled with sunshine
When you speak, I hear सौन्दर्यलहरी.
Slowly, surely, your words and eyes
Send vibrations like पार्वती*.

I surrendered to your storm
I laid **** and prayed to be spared
I could not contain your tremendous terror
I could only surrender and offer my obsessive praise

There's an island in Calusa that rests beneath our stars
Where your quiver remains full with the bluest of arrows
I still can feel your words as Waves of Beauty
I still can taste your skin of Praline and Coconut

My hunger for your thighs and spine of sweeping curves
Did not die when your tropical storm had passed
Or when your native arrows dissolved within my chest,
I am starving, a castaway, without your love storm near.

Your death came
unveiled by an omen
on the wings of an owl
I knew you would
not survive outside of me
too many traumas
too much pain has a
way of devouring
tiny little breaths
if you are not ready to live
the hurt will just
eat
you
up

It comes back in fragments,
Washing up on the shore like pieces of sea glass
I pick each unique piece up individually,
I see that each fragment is in some way a part of me
How could it possibly be,
That I could be so many things
In just one body?

Each piece put together leads to a culmination of sorts
An amalgamation that is the masterpiece of me
The maturation that leads to the finale
I look into the mirror and am so proud
For a jubilant child I once was
But a sad teenager
Then a balanced adult
Adult?

There is something fascinating about this whole life thing
Like looking up to the stars
In an expansive sky,
And I'm breathing while
Looking into another human's eyes
And we're smiling
Life has it's pain
But if it's unbearable, why do the good times make living so worthwhile?

Remnants of glitter nail polish
Stick like war veterans to my finger nails
Un-willing to let go
I'm amused by this analogy and symbolism and everything I can see that I can't quite describe
No, I have no words for the nuances
Maybe, I think,
If I learn more words I'd be understood better
But it's not with words that we primarily communicate
But with tones and expressions and subtleties
Only in observation of intricate details
Are we capable of marvelling at the ingenuity of Creation

And if anyone has ever left you,
Abandoned you
Because they lost their heart along their journey
Fret not,
Do not fear that all your love was for naught
For you are the expansive star child
That is capable of holding so much love within you without bursting,
Combusting or imploding
Each drop of love you put out into this world is never without value
It may fall upon barren land and fail to produce the desired result of untainted love
But it is never your fault when your call and outpouring of love is rejected or ****** up greedily by a poor, self-serving soul
Who will try to use your love for their own selfish gain
But they will fail miserably,
For love cannot be used with malicious intent

These are just some lessons that I've learned, they have grown my soul
Into a limitless, expansive, blossoming rose
Fear not, dear one
You who have weathered countless storms
Your stories will make you stronger
And your soul holds you ever so gently in it's loving arms.

We saw a light
I swear it
Something bright and crisp
And mother-clean
Or so it seemed to us
All those years ago
But we were so young then
Such noble fools
We believed
Oh, how we believed

Affection swells
And memory seduces
It is easy to love nostalgia
The children we were
Looking so new
Open-mouthed and wonderful
Delighted  and startled
Pointing yearning fingers
At the future
And there it was
And here it is
It's only a light
Really
I swear it
It's just a light

                             By Phil Roberts

i knew the road and the rain
that bleed with ease into the ditch
i knew the wind and the sun
that blistered my unclothed skin

i knew these things well
and they didn't lead to you

i could read a map and compass
and find all points facing north
i could read the sloping landscape
and find a landmark to lead my way

i knew these things well
and they didn't lead to you

i have searched with longing
i have ached from wonder
the roads felt endless
the grass grew tall

i knew these things well
but i'd rather know your embrace