The Terms

only if you will go to

the very end of it; only if

you will stand on the edge

of my periphery and

no further; only if you will

breathe fully into lungs aching

from the beauty of morning after

morning spent; the shared silence

of waking up, into light or

its opposite; you feel the first

ooze of sunrise spread through me,

like a shiver. Can I just

sit here and be

for a moment fully quiet, fully

present in the exhale that

moves through me, opalescent;

the privacy of awakening, the

height of remembering, the pine

needle, the coil, the sap that smooths

hair, softens fingers, flows oxygen

sweetly back into your sticky

green and wintering limbs; climbing

those trees in my backyard, peering in

on robins' eggs, our matching

palms, poison lined and broken

from living life in gulps,

diving like barn swallows.

I will, only if you will;

your looking so freely always

catches me in the throat; tell me

what you see behind them, crawling

in past my teeth, to suck loose

the hurt; in your eyes, when

you set another trial of

nails into your clapboard manner

(all roofs keep out the rain

just the same), I am at rest. Only if

from between your gaze drips

the jewel, the third gift,

the saturated thirst of all

the world breaking wide

in growth and only if you say it,

all of it out loud.

Reviews

[A Glow in the Pit of My..]

Your imagery stirs up delicate emotions within me, and I find your phrasing delightfully refreshing.
"sticky green and wintering limbs" and "crawling in past my teeth, to suck loose the hurt" are two of my favorite parts. On the whole, though, your piece just flows.
It's apparent you have a masterful way with words. Thank you for sharing.