what does it feel like to be held
not by another body
not by a set of limbs, a chest, a chin
but
by another soul

what does it feel like
to see truth in another pair of eyes
instead of hidden intentions
instead of absence

what does it feel like
to hear a familiar heartbeat
resounding next to your own
reaching through skin
through bone
two rhythms
indistinguishable

what does it feel like
to write poems about
a love that exists

Punished by the sun
in a desert of our love.

Slipshod the sailing stones,
how dispassion speckles the playa floor,
salt pans dissolve motivating force.

I'm a man returning to his ground.
You're a woman seeking refuge
in the cracked crevices of my rib cage.

So far below sea level,
where does love go from here to survive?

Perhaps, Chloride City
and the grave of a James McKay?

Maybe at Bottle House in Rhyolite,
the "Queen City"?

Either way, this sensation has become an unsacred mirage:

the watering hole, a leadfield,
with which we can only look back from.

Praying the sulfur in the sky
passes on from this place,

before we turn into something sodium, something akin to
Lot's careless wife.

In case I have not said it enough
I love you and need you to know
I'm always here for you brother
A fact I don't always show

Just give your sis a chance to improve
Try opening your critical mind
Instead of putting my problems on display
Like laundry strung on a clothesline

Two siblings turned out so different
Close in age yet still grew apart somehow
But realize we're not as different as we think
Comparing both lives then and now

Sometimes wish we'd see eye-to-eye
Walking down a separate road
Shadows darker than yours it seems
My company you've all but outgrown

I remember you'd pick on me
Because I was younger and smaller
You still bully me around these days
Only change is that I'm a bit taller

I am not the little girl you're used to
I often behave that way
When I get mad or frustrated
Emotions too large to convey

It is hard to say what I really mean
Words come out sounding insincere
If I loved you like I swear I do
Wouldn't even be standing here

Believe me when I say this much
You are my favorite brother by far
It doesn't matter that you're my only
Because I am so lucky you are

It must be special
The bond we share
Our hearts through distance connected
The hurtful comments hurled my way
Were concerns you misdirected

We were born
Bound by blood
Pact we unknowingly made at birth
If we both strive to excel and succeed
We can show everyone what we're worth

I will try harder
Text and call you
Make it a choice instead of a chore
Wish I didn't take family for granted
Because you definitely deserve more

the warmth of an embrace
from the depths of her soul
yet slick like oil
and all that slithers
between every crack
and every place
the light touches
in its soft
luminescent
caress
each kiss blooms a delicate blossom
in a garden of words
but withers with the seasons
when she leaves.