I saw you first,
as shadows do, afloat
in the churning of stars.

As stage lights poured out
over that dark sea of strangers,
awash in ruckus blooms
of color, a thousand

souls flew like banners
around us, and you
were the wind that swept the world
from stillness.

The first time
you ever turned away from me,
I could feel my gaze
smear across your cheek

like a hand against a mirror,
transfixed
by my own reflection.

Then, you looked—
God, those eyes!

sleepy, as if waking to a dream,
pillowed against the glow
of your amber skin.

As you tipped your light
like a cup against my lips,
my heart fell beneath its weight

and there, like the moon
turns the sun upon the earth,
your waxing crescent rose

against the cosmos and all
those endless fires paled in your presence

as you stood carving me perfectly
from the sky.