~
                    I've been taught
                      To only tread
                  in shallow waters
      But his eyes were oceans of blue
    and I was ready to take the plunge.
       Never mind that I've forgotten
                      how to swim.
     If in return, it is he that leaves me
                        breathless,
  Let it be that I covet air for all eternity.

A month ago I sat in class
in a New England School for boys
Now, I'm in a bomber group
Adjusting to the noise

I made plans for Harvard
A doctor, I would be
Then my life would turn
In a way I didn't see

The war was on in Europe
We saw in the press
But, 18 days before Christmas
we were pulled into the mess

Future plans were put aside
Our country we'd support
We'd forget all of our future thoughts
We'd join, though not for sport

We signed up down in Boston
Young men flyers, soldiers all
Preparing for a battle
Many would not live till fall

We thought not of our future
Our present, all we had
Many dead by Christmas next
The thought is truly sad

You do not what you want to
But, what needs to be done
You go from boy to man so fast
You've barely walked...now run

Think back on those who made it
Remember who did not
Young men they are forever
They deserve a longer thought

The air is pure and holy
It is scattered with young souls
Boys, now men who went to war
And put aside their goals

It’s like
the only a i r
left on earth
is what’s trapped
                      in
                     my
                   lungs,
but I am needing
more than oxygen
to survive.


**V. K.

Baby kiss me
like we're on Mars and the only breath
we have is from
each other's lungs.

the days just before spring
just after fall
where the damp and cold grips the air
but summer still sings her
uplifting call.

comfortable outside in
track pants & a sweater
chilling fingers if they are
not woven tightly together.

but oh,
how lovely is the cool breeze
off the ocean?

to just take a minute of the day
between all the daily commotion

to sit and bask
in the salty sweet air.

I try but I can't seem to get myself
To think of anything but you
Your breath on my face your warm, gentle kiss I taste the truth, I taste the truth
There's nothing else I want more than to feel this way .

Trying to feel the thinness of air,
Running through your fingers like silk
Gently pushing around you in a soft embrace
Intangible tendrils wisping around your face
Ever present,
And forgotten