Thunder rattles the mountains.
I was never afraid of storms until tonight.
I switch on my light and run back to
my sheets, hoping that don't feel quite so alone
when I watch the next bolt
illuminate my window.

I wonder when it last rained where you live.
Maybe you were scared like me.

I switch the light off again.

Tonight the stars cascade and pool into swirls and patterns, like a van gogh.

I walk with you arm in arm under this tapestry of light; you bring my hand to your lips,
then as you lean in and kiss my cheek,
I wish I were an artist.  

There are no words to capture the beauty of this night.

The constellations hide tonight.
The only light I can see is from dim porch  bulbs  from far off houses.  They've
been neglectfully left on  while their weary owners rest, and they flicker
relentlessly, threatening to leave me in the darkness.

It's just me and the pines tonight; their silhouettes towering like deities over
me.  A coyote wails in the distance, his cry carrying over miles. I lay back
onto the grass and mourn with him. Together,  we howl into the night, our
tormented wails evaporating into the charcoal sky.

You couldn't hold me.
Your focus always shifted,
and I was left as an afterthought, dangling in your arms.

You couldn't kiss me.
My passionate lips always craved more than your simply  graze.

You couldn't love me.
I waited, my chest open, heart exposed for the rush of heat
from your soul to mine.

Sometimes heartbreak is quiet
and slow.  it doesn't explode in anguish, or scream in
torment. It cries softly,
with each disappointment,
stacked in memory
like books along a shelf.

There's a cave in my heart,
And it echoes while I sigh.

I expected someone else
to fill the hollow, when they'd
hold me while I slept. But I lay
alone at night, with the cavern
gaping wide.  I wrap my arms
around myself and try to hide
the cold draft blowing through
my chest, but I let my arms
fall,

and lay awake knowing that
no one else can make this pit
vanish.

I want the beauty to stay inside me.
I want my lungs to expand with a love like lightening so that when our lips
touch softly, I can exhale and watch my passion play upon your smile.

You cross the room slowly,
closing the distance between us.
You raise your arms and welcome me into your heart. I don't think I'll ever
leave.

The stars have woven a quilt above us, and we speak words of promise as we say
goodnight. You hold me tight and I wonder if you can feel my heart pound within
your chest. It's hard to breathe with you so near, but now all that i can think
of is the way we slide and twist around each other, our lives intertwining like
branches. Hold me more still. And leave the rest to nature. We will grow
separate, but together.