if i were in Paris
i would march for you
hold up a banner made from scraps of your favorite shirts

if i were in Greece
i would carve your face into a column of the parthenon with "God" written legibly across your lips
(for He is love, and i love kissing you)

if i were in China
i would cover myself in paper mache
disguise myself as a Terrecotta soldier,
move up to commanding officer and lead the whole army to guard your resting place
(because
you
are my emperor)

if i were in Israel
i would build a bomb shelter
and safe from the heat of those who hate us,
our bodies would discover fire

if i were in Argentina
i would lay claim on you
the way the country claims LAS ISLAS MALVINAS and vows to never forget

if i were in the United States
i would miss you the way that Obama misses his intelligence briefings
we would sit on our smartphones and text haikus back and forth as we sat back to back with each other

darling?
i love you to the comet Europe landed on
and back.

Gravity is negligible
Ground below disappears
Stars are within reach
And our energy grows
Even Einstein envies us
Because time stops
When we are together

Control is needless
With full confidence
we make every desire reality
Even Atlas envies us
Because the world lies
In the palm of our hands
When we are together

As brave warriors
We boldly crash
Every border ahead
For a higher cause
Even Napoleon envies us
Because we are the masters of power
When we are together

The melody of
Our melded bodies
Is the only thing we hear
Even Mozart envies
The perfectly composed symphony
When we are together

Moral vanished
Rationality forgotten
Our psyche ruled by Id
Even Freud envies us
because pleasure is the only drug we use
When we are together

The fantasy is real
As  is the breathing
Mine and yours
Deep and passionate
Even Nietzsche envies us
Because the Übermensch becomes alive
When we are together

Titan of old,
Bearing both your love and mine.
Guide me, Navigator.
Let me take the weight.
You’ll shatter,
I’ll just break.

Lonely can be the plight of the English major
languishing in a lexicon of terms and forms
dreams and schemes
witticisms and imaginings
with that lushness of loquacity
whereby  sonnets and rhymes are adorned
symbols and signs are reformed
where mellifluous speech is ascribed an eloquence
transcribed and renewed
and the heralding voices of angels appear
preceded by an  aperture of magnificent hues

*I will always be in love with you
our lives are not our own
from womb to tomb
we are bound to others
past and present
and by each crime
and by every kindness
we birth our future

I currently don't have the drive to be poetic.
All this workload makes me feel like
I'm Atlas carrying the burden they call Earth.
In other words, I am so stressed.

your body is an atlas

I cannot count the hours spent lost in the roads

of the veins on your wrists

and the scars on your knees as lakes pool from you temperate thunderstorms

your shoulders are a forest in which every freckle a tree

that I've kissed and brushed my name through slowly

into your paper thin skin that folded back with loving hands

the scratch and scrape against my soul
of days gone by, of words unknown
to my ears
the rush of air across my cheek
hair on end, fingers tingling
unsteady footsteps and too much oxygen
all at once
life comes rushing in

life comes rushing in
and i run into hiding
guess i just don't want to be trampled
guess i'm just not ready
to stand up, turn
and join the herd

the back and forth, neither here nor there
seems like the words, the letters
are never in the right order
it all makes sense to my body and logic
but something's off, something's wrong
it's a puzzle i have yet to put together
afraid to set that last piece in
and see the whole picture for what it is

life comes rushing in
and i hold it back
Moses parting those red waters
my hands, pressing on either side
against the **** tide, against the **** grain
against the refrain of harsh truth and soft air
and sweet breath and smooth hands
and familiar sounds
and safety

i'll stay in danger a little while longer
still afraid to feel safe
still afraid to calm down
still afraid to let the Red Sea wash over me

blue skies wavering above
and i blink them away
i'll stay under cloud cover a little while longer
still afraid of the sun's rays

life comes rushing in
and i turn away, holding it at bay
like Atlas, shouldering the weight
but never looking it in the face

neither here nor there
the Red Sea fades away