Time shook
And the shadows hummed
An ancient cicada song
Their heavy red eyes aware
The open iron gate clanging
In the wind - off beat.
After you were gone
There was no wasted breath -
No echoes.
No footsteps searching
Just emptyness
Like a two gallon stone crock
Drained.

This is the place I asked you
Forever
The crisp cedar breeze
And Yards below
The pine canopy holds
Her breath as I reach for your hand
This is our world and nature
Hides her shadows amongst the roots.

This is the place I asked you for a future
The damp cedar air
And yards below
The pine canopy shudders and
Turns color as I grasp for your hand.

This is the place I asked for forgiveness
A harsh cedar wind
Bites but is fair
And miles below
The pine canopy cries and
Sheds her needles
As I search for your hand.

My soul is torn by a whirlwind
Screaming eddies scrape the truth away
Like a newborn
Flailing
Trying to take hold
Gasping and bleeding
Alone in a bed so cold.

What happened to what I dreamed
All the crisp and bitter leaves
Twisting in the fall sun
Flickering bright to dark
Like falling seeds
Flailing
Trying to take hold
On earth where silence
And colors seasonal and old
Bound me for a thousand years.

In between the words
Are the dreams we left behind
As floor boards creak under
Hesitant heavy steps.
Between the letters
The camphor tree
Roars in the wind
Like a river
Flowing over its banks and
Miro’s spider waits
In silence
On the wall.
In the refrain
A pause
And the heartbeat
Of loss.

Do not dress in those rags for me. In fact,
Take off your clothes, each article, and with it
Take out your soul, lay it bare on the table,
And I will read it with you. Let us discover
The entirety of what makes you human.
I want to know, top to bottom, just how you click.
What you say is only the table of contents.
I am willing and wanting to read each chapter,
Memorize paragraphs, mull over the words,
And decipher the metaphors. You are a novel
I will keep by my bedside after I read to sleep,
And grab at in the morning as soon as I wake,
Before I even brush my teeth. So take it off,
You have no need for decoration. You can be
Naked as the day you were born. My love
Is the only cover you’ll need, and it’ll keep you warm.
It won’t suffocate you, I swear!