We laugh
& hold hands
On the beaches of Marco Island

We've slipped into the pages of a novel
This chapter has sun
This paragraph -
Sand & serenity
We sink into our beach chairs
Only to crush on the energy
The cadence of the waves
Reflected in her eyes
Where the gold light spreads
Arresting my affection -
My words performing
Restless
Having been asleep for so long
Drifting thru the tide
With the will,
The blessing,
The estate of the promise
Of a provisional paradise

Your lips part
& the words arrive
Dotting my mind -
Like a songbird
I take notice
I bristle

It is the beginning of all flowers
The beginning of the wind
That parted the palm trees

This is the time
When we learn
There is nothing else to ask for.
We sift the sand -
Our words turning to dust

& later the moonlight
Breathes us in
As it has always done.
The elegant night
Comes to a close
& we surrender unto each other
We commit
To a constant beginning

_____

This Guitar is the conduit
Both sacred & profane
She can punish or soothe

She is a mirror
And what I offer, she offers
My blood is her blood
From the lilac to the skyscraper
She can make the bright stars lazy
With the slightest shrug

She is the ignition of affection
Her elegance so grand
It makes one feel *****

Her swagger sweeps me up
Enclosed in her murmur
Her breath is my crescent moon
Her wine, my time

_______

Concealed in the pearl of your routine
Like a carnation of melody -
The honey hive
& the threat of the sting
This wild rose
North star lover
Bonfire of destiny
and the summit of all things joyous

The loneliness from which we are abscent
Smoldering like the  
Shadow of a lone sparrow

Growing acustom to your climate
And the scent that ignites
My restless heart

The rain undresses me
& when you close your eyes
I fall asleep

______

The ocean has a swagger
Her static
Comes across the rooftops of her waves
Her ferocity is my applause
There are whispers scattered in her water -
Surrender in her sensuality
My nerves are stripped wires -
Sensitive to the touch
The pleasure leaves lasting fingersprints within.
She compensates
She elevates
I wake under the weight
Of her hands
We are kin
Made of stardust -
Phosphorescent
Celestrial
The flame of a misplaced diamond
To the gloom of her moon of misfortune
Reflected in my Buddha nature
The way out
Is the way in
The way out
Is the way in

_________

The treachery of over-staying a welcome
Is as unforgiveable
As the closing of night
       or the blossom that parts  

Leaving ribbons of kisses
Only to return for them again.
& we laugh at the skeletons
Hanging idle in our closets -
We dress them in silly clothes
& amusing poses
To reduce their power

Now we take shelter
In the sheets of your bed
I am constructing my movements
From the blueprint of your body

We commune in to defeat grief  
We trespass & disrespect the mundane
A new ritual -
From San Pablo rd
To the sea
I lean into you
You lean into me

_________

We collapse
Into the crevasses
On the French Quarter -
A blooming overture
With her fluttering
Voodoo pageantry & Uneven streets

I reach for your hand
Anchored by the warm bursts
Of intimacy -
Your smile mixed with
The hushed breeze of Decatur Street

We are deposited between the shoulder blades -
The spine of all hours
The hours that orbit us
In this moment -
Like the fragility of ash, fleeting -
Our hearts enchanted
We drink in the city

Her testimony
Is surreal, yet familiar
She opens
She reveals, reassures
Yet maintains
The dignity of mystery:
The secret of which
Is her pearl of beauty

We are charmed
In the corridors
Of her jaded artisans
From the brass sousaphones
To the beignets of
Cafe Du Monde

Even the rain
(which wets deeper
Than any rose can hide)
Gives rise
To the flecks of our laughter
Flowering up To the surface of our hotel

We have surrendered to her adventure
We perch where we can see
We
Agree

_________

Carved from the hand
Of an artist
Nurtured by the sun & moon
In the space
Between whisper
And kiss
The love
Between wonder
And bliss