Do you see me ?
No you can’t
Do you see me
For who I am
Or do you see
What you want me to be
A person you desire
That’s not me

Here.
Now.
You are not.
I am still

we were
puzzle pieces
that never
quite fit .

even now
many years
later and
a few
ruff edges
torn and
broken off,


edges
that still
reach out
and cut
and bleed
our heart,

fresh flesh
for the taking.

but still
at night I
dance clumsily
in my head
with you,

rarely making
eye contact,

breaking
emotional toes
and feelings
like they were
just peanuts
on a cheap
back water
bar floor.

and this is
all now
that is
left of us.

the puzzle
dance,

a beginning
that will
never end.

in the darkness i find you
your face forming so easily
despite the dawns between us
incense fills the air
and i'm back there
in that first moment
your eyes sparking like a glacier
the air between us dancing
with a million words unsaid
i knew then what i know now
with oranges staining my lips
the pain of loving another
would never be as sweet.

I have everything I need in this dust-filled world, except for your presence.

A stone on a stone

on a stone, that's how I climb --


higher and higher.