
Again
It’s not possible this is the first time
that you’ve held my heart

Forehead Kisses
You tell me forehead kisses are for the soul
so I keep my lips to your skin as your tears fall

Listen
At the edge of my universe, there is a call bell
vintage, with gold vermeil, the kind that sits on service counters waiting for a finger to tap its cue

Ablaze
I did stop dreaming about you
but you never quit crossing my mind
in flashes that make my breath catch

The Party
I can remember that there was a baby
who wouldn’t let me leave without
kissing her on the lips,

Five Years
Five years on, what I miss most about us
is my own feeling that something was meant to be
my own conviction that something couldn’t be broken

When Bad Things Come for a Friend
Caring feels like I’m the driver and you’re in the passenger seat
and there’s a Bad Thing coming so I put my arm out across you

My Giant
Years ago, when I couldn’t sleep, I would imagine myself
curled against a broad chest, being rocked in the arms
of a giant. My body was tiny in his arms, safe and light,

A Choice
In a parallel time,
there’s a house where we spend our days

How to Be Free
I was asked recently to think
about when I feel most me

Home
I found another
an alien just like me
hiding in plain sight

The Weekend Dad
He’s clearly a weekend dad
one who has brought his boys to the pool
mostly to kill time

August
The plant next to the path
Grows tall and green and luscious
Standing there in all its liveness

Every Night
When I turn out the light
in the space between the switch
and my head resting on the pillow

When the words run out
At 6:57 this morning, the words ran out. They stopped.
Protested. Said they had done more than their share of work.

There is more
to life than the taste of coffee
on his lips as they pull me from sleep

IF
If I ever needed proof
that there is more to life than this body
that talking is more than from our mouths,
more, even, than found in our touch

Father’s Day
You think I’m far,
that we don’t speak much,
that I’m “the prodigal daughter,”
that I didn’t want or take as much from you as did your sons.
But I’ve never told you

phone call to a friend
I went through his social media
archives the other night
I don’t know why I didn’t
think to do that before

3rd Degree
We went to the woods
and had a bonfire of words
burned it all to the ground
everything we’d built