in the darkness
your ghost finds me
the memories leave me aching.
the moon was the only witness
to our midnight worship
the stars burned with longing.
teeth bared, nails dragging,
your moans becoming
my personal symphony
each beat of my heart,
yearning for your love.
now my skin is still on fire
from a blanket of kisses
bright enough
to make the night sky herself
weep with envy.

my grandmother and i are on the couch.

when i ask about the soft edges in everyone's voice, she tells me,
"it's because these few days are holy."
and i remember my aunt this morning
saying something about how people must meditate
on their savior,
and think about their god.

i look at her now,
at the table with two other people,
their fingers curled in front of them,
their heads bowed,
and words quietly escaping their lips
like prayers they have memorized from the cards in their hands.
there are no saviors to them,
just kings and queens
that lead them into the night.
(but meditation has always been better done late, i guess.)

the dim light hangs above my aunt and her friends like
a numb pain that has settled
in a throat that has been suffocating for centuries
called 'architectural beauty,'
called 'site of sacred things,'
called a photography background for tourists.

the coins bounce across the table
and ring like bells
and my aunt's arms stretch
and rake the thirty silver pieces
into her chest,
thanking luck or fortune
or her god
for a prayer answered,
her friends cursing luck or fortune
or their god
as they gather another set of cards
into their curled fingers.

the words come out in a stream of kings and queens
and numbers.
their mouth spill their heart on the table,
right there - a murmured incantation
of awe
or devotion

or just
silver.

-j.g.

you look at me like you might drown in me
a body of water, to rinse away the exhaustion
you look at me like there are depths you've yet to dive into
uncharted territory
you trace the inches of me like there will always be more to love
like you will never grow tired of the skin I'm in
I've grown up knowing that my body is a temple
but I've never met someone so dedicated to worshipping it

worshipping you
is the only religion i know;
being alone with you
is the only heaven i want to be sent to.

I broke my lamp and I could still see

The unexplained remained, yet I was blind

My world fell silent, I heard a shout

The unexplained remained, yet I was deaf

I was paralyzed, numb, but a touch was on my skin

The unexplained remained, yet I was senseless

The ground collapsed beneathe my feet

I stood

On You

My Rock

10,000 miles out - I decided now

I took one step back and you were there

My God

My Home