I like to drop pebbles into water,
watching them turn and swirl in the waves,
while they transform from a stagnant object
to one with a chance at life,
to cute craters in the foreign objects of rivers,
to carve an indented home into sand and clay.

I let them slip from my fingers to be pushed ashore centuries later
by some animal, in mouth or hand,
and if they hold my pebble closely
to the nape of their neck,
feeling its morse code vibration,
they will understand to let it slip through their own grasp,
sliding through the atmosphere,
kissing each fragment of pollen,
back into the pool of consciousness.

I've wanted to draw Native American Art
On your etch-a-sketch canvas for two decades,
And now given the opportunity
This spectacle I'm immersed in
Disallows me to master the act of this ecological connection.
The water behind me whispers, slowly,
The words necessary to ****** me.
My fingers slide along the slanted planes of sand,
Memorizing each blemish
Created by the ceaseless power of Earth.
Every tree stump boasts the bust of a woman,
Tantalizing in its mossy negligée,
But ashen by the blade of an angry flame,
Stripping them of life.

Superior's Two Hearts tends to my
Earthen love affair
As a fishing lure guides its victims-
With careful precision
And a predetermined purpose.

I have meandered onto the patch of land
By following that drum beat
Of the blood-flowing waters.
Graced with the flower of fruit,
Blueberries, the crooked banks become
A whole cosmos of wonder embedded in soil.
So I fill my mind with the swirling waters,
And my stomach with the periwinkle nectar,
To finally pick up my pen,
Not to draw pictures of your beauty on sand,
But to write words of your wisdom on paper-
The strength you have given me to
Become something other than a blank page.

Love not found under bed sheets,
But found in the heart,
Spread thinly as the beach sand
That dirties my feet
When we ran into the woods.
Connected by fear
And our hands
As we stumbled upon safety
In a city of giants undisturbed by society,
I felt your thoughts sweat through your fingerprints,
Siphon into my blood to pulse through my body.

And when we lit campfires for our lungs
You tucked me close to your knee,
Your elbow resting on my femur,
Rushing your thoughts even faster still to my heart.
I felt your love nest at the base of my brain,
And I was reminded
That I love you,
How you love the thought of loving me,
And how much that will never matter.

It must be real,
If hearing the blades of grass
Whisper to my toes
Makes me think about you.

I am nothing to you,
A mere particle of flesh
impounded by the pulsing gravity
Perpetuated in your dizzying, unfathomable motion.
And you are everything to me-
Provider of energy,
Life,
Warmth,
Love,
And a home-
I can only hope to be as green as the trees
Who give such beauty to this landscape you call your kingdom,
Who smile under your radiance,
Who breathe for the planet.

If green was the color for thankfulness
My heart would bleed chlorophyll.
I would paint my world in pulverized leaves,
Coating my tire treads to gift you thanks everywhere I traveled.

I can only guess the reason I transplant orphan saplings into ****** soil
Is to give back to the one who gave everything.
Maybe someday the trees will streak my palms with their thankfulness pigment.
My life lines will allow rivers of green to flow across my skin smoothly, just like water,
Down my arms, coating each hair and fiber.
My fingers will sprout innocent leaves, quivering in the crisp evening wind.
They will sway East and West,
Finding North in between,
Shadowing my neck to cool its newly forged bark,
stiffening my posture and stifling my movement.
The freshly cut spearmint grass will leave their green fingerprints on my arched feet,
Painting my soul with gratitude.
I will point my branches to the sky,
Kick my roots to signify my green heels and toes,
Embodying my brethren until the rain washes away my new skin,
Praying that you notice me.