so we were by the gate
under a sky of stars
I stretched my hands and she held them
and they were warm
as warm as the red berries I plucked last summer
and she smiled
laughing, she jumped
from foot to foot, swinging her head
like a lovely little puppy biting a shoe.
"I love you" she said
and I looked at her
lifting the hair that fell over her eyes
I replied
"I'm very Thirsty".

Sticky summer evening,
Warm, young, beautiful.
Flitting throughout the night,
Bountiful bundles of fireflies.
Flickering in the breezes,
A soft golden mist.
New summer's evening,
Graced by the lightning bugs.

I want to be your scarf,
So soft and mohair,
To warm you in snowfalls
And even in rainy autumn.

I will embrace your neck
Like a mother cradles her child.
I’ll save the warmth for you.
Put on the scarf, be so kind.

I want to be your scarf.
Oh, don’t wear scarfs? Well now,
If I can’t softly warm you,
I’ll be your skin somehow.

I enter the bathtub filled with warm water
To wash away the stress and trauma.
The liquid which used to bring me so much comfort
And so much fear.

The water i used to warm my hands with,
The water i used to make food i hoped no one knew about,
The water i gave my dying dog,
The water that kept me alive.

And i sit there, thinking about it.
About everything that can happen
In the span of 4 years.
Earth is a strange place indeed,
As it is filled with water.

“Would You die for me” she asked him, standing In the snow on a cold december night. Light blared from the busy festival tents that surrounded them. His reply was in a soft tone, and warm like a fireplace. “I'd say yes, but I'd be lying, I'd say I'd pull my heart out, but that too would be a lie. See my love, to die for you would be selfish,  and I'm not selfish.“ Her smile faded as he spoke his piece in the snowy air, “but I'd live for you” he said, taking her hand. "I'd spend my days spreading your name like a deity ready to worship, and if no one did, I'd worship you enough to compensate”. Silence fell between them, for a moment it was just the two of them, she finally spoke “i like that answer”.

I feel loved
When a handshake
Somehow turned into a hug

I feel loved
When we talk over
Coffee and massages

I feel loved
When we put our warm hands
On each other’s arms and backs

I feel loved
When this nightmare looms,
But we have found a place to say
“Welcome home”.