I am looking at maps, constellations and planets
plotting routes to drive, to hike this country
seems I would stagnate and die
were I to stay put all of the time
my eyes scale topographies
like braille, my fingers feel
the green of flowering fields
the rain running down hills
always I dream of skies
I envy birds flying over
in cities, I don't seem to settle
pace this floor, a caged animal
daydream of wilderness walks,
spending nights watching stars fall
the heavenly peace of it all.

These joyful teardrops fall
Thousands and thousands of feet,
Falling through the shifting air currents,
warming as they approach the ground
That they are so determined to soften.
As these tears fall,
I dance.
Jumping and leaping,
Dreaming and laughing with no cares.
These tears fall on my bare skin,
Joyously painting their masterpieces
On my white canvas with translucent tracks.
Tracing the contours of my body,
Freely exploring these valleys and mountains,
For we are all free.
As I slide through the mud
No longer white or brown,
No longer Christian, Muslim, or Atheist,
No longer afraid or angry.
These tears wash away everything
As they fall to the ground,
From my cheeks and the sky.
Not a care for yesterday,
Not a worry about tomorrow.
As I lay still,
Allowing these tears to wash my body clean,
Mixing with the swirling brown water,
Telling a story,
It caresses my naked body.
It washes away my walls I have erected,
Laying bare once again my ever present
Love.
And as I look over,
I can almost see you lying beside me.
Your white teeth
Glinting as you stare back.
Not a moment of chagrin
As we lay here,
Bare ******* to the heavens.
Your deep brown eyes
Framed by a messy mane
Stare into mine.
But as I look back to the heavens
You fade away once more.

And as I lay there all alone,
I wish I could fall,
Thousands and thousands of feet,
Swirling through the air currents,
Onto your dancing and leaping body,
Caressing your cheeks,
Washing away your cares.
I fall onto your body
And as you look over
Your white teeth,
Glinting as I stare back.
Not a moment of chagrin
As we lay here,
Bare ******* to the heavens.
Your deep brown eyes,
Framed by a messy mane,
Stare into mine.
As you look to the heavens
I lay beside you,
Swirling around your body,
Washing the mud from your skin,
And the stains from your soul.

the coast, it is just as you promised.

         elusive--

the white stones shifting beneath my feet,
this wind. this rain,
the way the steely sky
trickles down to kiss the sea,
the indistinct rumors / hints / echoes of mountains
where the mist has slept with the trees.

                       vast, inconsolable:

the cliffs whisper to me
of their endless
journey to the horizon,
and captured in this fragrant
brushstroke of balsam and pine
I feel the damp northwest morning
soak into my skin,
and suddenly there is
an itching of feathers
and salt in my veins.

                                      {evergreen, wild}

                     for a second,
I bite into the marine chaos
of these dancing whitecaps,
and it is just as you promised.

untamable.


      pacific.

loving you is like picking
the petals from a flower
i hate you, i miss you, i
hate you, i miss you
but whichever petal i end
up with, will you please
come back?