May our prayers be as incense rising up
Our joys and sufferings, our longings, be a sweet perfume unto you
We bow our heads, we bend our knees
We lift our hearts and we begin to find peace.
We lift our voices and our hands
Sing together across seas and land.
Lifted up as we fall down
We, the nail in your hands, a thorn on the crown.

You are loved more dearly than you'll ever know.
Hold my hand, follow me into the light, we'll take it slow.
You're walking on the water while the waves and wind rage on
But fear not, I'll never let you go.
I have heard your cries, I have heard your prayers.
Though you forsake me, I will never forsake you.
I hold you in my hand, I hold the sun in place,
I know you, I love you, I give you my life:
Will you do the same for me?
Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, welcome the sinner and the saint.
Welcome the poor into your home and into your heart.

You do the same for me;
You make me all I am.
You raise me up to more than I can be on my own.
You fill my soul with your song,
You sing your love over my life and I'm amazed.
I'm aware of your presence, but sometimes I can't see
The greatness of your master plan and why it has to be.
But I trust you, Lord help me to believe.

Some day I'll understand the wisdom of your plan
When all will be revealed and all will be made new
When I'm finally home where I can be with you.

But until that time Lord, be with me today.
Free me from these chains that bind, be here with me always.

Amen

I was sitting there
languid, almost serene
your perfume in the air
but I  did not know your name

The moment was ours
or at least it was mine
how to make it yours
It always seems to be the same

The skin of the air was so clean
your scent, purring upon a pillow
your eyes,
slowly receding towards the night
they’re safer there
just the stars and you;
drawn to one another,
waiting for something to happen
but another sigh awaits

You left without a sound
except your chair, dragging
I hoped you’d turn around
But your heart made no claim

I’d seen it before
the entire moment
played over and over
I try to give them away
some gifts are left unopened

(November 17, 2014 // 11:24 P.M.)

I haven't worn my perfume in awhile, and as I sprayed it along the lines of my blouse today, I felt the memories of you linger within each drop.

As the aroma filled my lungs, as did the harsh coldness that comes with the thought of you.

I couldn't breathe, yet the pain that crushed my chest came so effortlessly, and it hasn't left quite yet.

This scent doesn't just carry a floral character, it carries you; it holds the mornings you'd enjoy it as it filled your front seat, the nights you let it fill your lungs after dropping me off, and the evenings of having to walk passed it during your shift at work, having to remember that the thick air of my perfume is all you have left of me.

If you were something
to be intoxicated by,
I would choose you
over the expensive perfumes.

For not even the sweetest flower
can bring me joy
Like you do .

All that was left after you'd gone
Was a little bottle of scent
I'm not even sure that you were wearing it that night
It had been kicked under the bed that you gave me and my friend to sleep in
When another friend had forgotten.
But somehow
This little bottle made its way into my makeup bag
And I found it a week later
Took the cap off gently
- scared of stirring it
And raised it to my nose.
It smelled deeply of you
Warm and musky
Like your hair that night when my fingers were tangled in it,
Like your clothes in the morning when I turned to face you.
I don't know why but each night when I began to miss you
I'd roll some on my wrists like silk
And lie in my bed
And wait for you to come back to me.
I inhaled at my wrists as you had done at my neck
Remembered how you'd whispered
That you loved the way I smell.
I'd rub my wrists together
To get that warmth that I'd felt when I woke in your arms
Locked so tightly round me that I almost struggled for breath
And even though I haven't seen you in weeks
months
And even though I barely knew you
- just a few days
I still fall asleep every night with your scent on my arms
and the feeling of your love etched into my body.