Have you ever met a stranger
       and known them instantly?
Because baby,
       that's how I feel about you.
That serendipitous meeting
       was actually a long time coming,
       dear.
Because baby,
       I think our souls danced
       many times before our eyes
       chanced upon one another.
Escaping away
     to take solar strolls
         and traipse along the moon,
                   dancing within the stars
                                                     together.
And baby,
       our fortuitous discovery
       of each other wasn't chance at all,
but the opportunity for our souls
       to rejoice in puerile glee
       knowing their person had finally
       found their soul's one true match.

I remember the gilded days
the gilded times and the ways you said you loved me
it felt like the breeze before a thunderstorm was approaching
and the next day we'd fight
or even the same day
we'd fumble and break
even miles away
when I say gilded I mean lovely
lovely but damaged,
when we'd see each other we'd fake the happiness and caress through the pain
and when I say gilded I mean bittersweet
you always said I fit you better than your favorite sweater
but that sweater had its tears
and we had our weaknesses
at first it was was each other
but then yours was her
and mine was still you
now when I said gilded I meant unbreakable yet shattered
like my heart when you said you love her
they say all that glitters is gold
but when I say gilded sometimes all that glitters isn't real
like a diamond bezel that's actually fake
just like
how you cared for me
but really
you cared for her and when I say gilded I mean when I longed for the times that you said you loved me
just like your favorite songs
and your favorite ideas
but when it wasn't the time for that
I would say I hate you and you'd say it back
we'd fuss and fight
I'd look for ways to feel empty
just like the last bottle I could find
and when I said gilded I meant Id act happy
but I was insane
so when I say gilded
I only mean it past tense
because now
these are the silver times
and when I say silver
not golden and gorgeous
but shiny and like steel
and realistically
I am now
worthy and almost healed.

We dropped by
in the VW bug
along the Malibu coast
for just one evening.

She wore green satin
and pukas,
had her dreads plaited neatly
& she lit candles
under the smiling moon.

We burned nag long
into the wee hours
& in the morning
we were gone
like her,
as beautiful as the surf.

Do you know the world unseen?
The one that every human being
Takes for granted every day
As they go about their work or play

For I speak of things like morning mist
The flower in the breeze that twists
The way some clouds evaporate
Or that flake of rust on the old front gate
The struggling mum who needs a rest
The logo on her child’s vest
The smile that means “I noticed you”
A kiss that’s meant for no one’s view

For all these things are here to see
Yet focussed minds just cannot be
Sensitive to all that’s there
For overload would bring to bear
Such cacophony of life’s rich vein
That most just choose to see the same.

The exceptions, friends, are me and you
Who take the time, like poets do.


RD©2014