blue and purple clouds
rolling in a sudden storm
cold first rain of spring

Thank you.*

Such abused words.

Too often they are a lie.
Lists of names barely remembered,
slurred together in a hasty speech,
a meaningless slip of arrogance.

I had no audience,
no beautiful faces
like drowning lights,
yellow eyes in a smoky room.
Fearful and cold,
I wrote them alone,
birthed in my mind
by desperation and giddiness,
those flighty muses.

But you were there,
my euchre girls
and boating boys,
and I held you
tightly to my chest.

I release them now
my handful of
teardrop butterflies,

And they fly home to you.

I am supposed to compliment
your beauty,
your bark brown wings and
perfect form,
your delicate legs and
slender body

I am supposed to praise
your grace in flight,
your swiftness
and your speed

I am supposed to compare you to
the softness
of an autumn blanket,
the silent beauty
of a silver moon,
the rush, then stillness,
of a changing wind.

But when you landed on my arm,
you tiny beautiful being,

You scared the crap out of me.

You found me
simplicity,
harmonium,
quiet ***** humming
slow,
softness,
starts,
and the violin follows along

And you grow
oh so quickly
and my smile joins you
my body
my toes are tapping
and a man walks sturdy
stepping on your beat
with a smooth nonchalance

And I am lifted
my arms raising,
reaching,
and my legs
weightless

Enveloped in song
warmth,
lilting,
socks slipping on a wooden floor
clapping along
as your voice grows

Strings thrum
and my bones with them
and as you fade I slow
my twirling gentles
but my smile remains,
breathless
cheeks red and eyes
glowing.

Smooth and swift
these words fill
the page,
black curves,
glistening
smudged by my hands

Or halting and stiff,
the graphite pencil,
wooden switches and swishes
and my terrible punctuation

Half-formed figures
and plots riddled
with holes,
my broken babies

I write these lines for you
small and quiet,
uneven spaces
and bad grammar,
because speaking is so loud
and my voice is hoarse
and my tongue trips
and stumbles,
and I cannot find the words
to say
to you.