poetry

Uncertain Love Poem

Uncertain Love Poem

Today I am falling in love with snow falling –
air moving water from one basin to the next –
while Moon Creek refuses to freeze.

I am falling in love with our modern life
transformed into a black-and-white photograph –
monochromatic woods of white snow and charcoal trunks;
our thoughts so much more basic this March than last –
where to find flour
how to wash hands to survive
which board game to play today.

I am falling in love with the mysterious intact orange
our boys found in a snowbank,
now halved on the deck,
an offering for orioles
who may never arrive.

I am falling in love with uncertainty,
I tell myself without buying it.
My mouth still goes sour
at each unknown we’re forced to swallow now.
Honestly, I am just falling into a holding pattern,
making a new space in my mind
where not knowing is allowed
(if not warmly welcomed).

This year the universe keeps pounding on my door
like the house is on fire,
desperately trying to wake me up,
shaking me in my bed until I will repeat after it:
you don’t need to know what’s next.
In fact, you may never get to know what happened.
All that’s left for you to know, to trust, to believe,
is that if you squint hard enough
there will always be something in your field of view
worthy of your love.

poetry

love in a time of uncertainty

love in a time of uncertainty

when death hovers on the porch
and everything that usually matters
stands still
love means someone you can
show your fear
and speak its name out loud
someone who wants to
hold your hand anyway
someone who says
in all the swirl of unknown to-bes
look into my eyes
like when we’re dancing
maintaining our equilibrium
while the rest of the world dissolves
into a blur of bright color
and rhythmic noise
we’ll hold each other upright
smiling through the spin

poetry

3 Valentines

3 Valentines

i

here where the choice of words
feels so weighted
vs. usted
ser vs. estar
every sentence revealing
one’s innermost thoughts
about where things stand
I say today and tomorrow and tomorrow
tú y yo
somos
enamorados

ii

you don’t need to
say you’re sorry
only accept
the warm fuzzy love
and bright grapefruit-pink joy
I hold out in both hands
for you

iii

I’ve never been disappointed
by what’s inside
your oh-so-deep
kind well of
patient and giving heart

poetry

in the bird hide

in the bird hide

in the bird hide
everything is simple
all we’re invited to do
is be:
come look notice appreciate praise

avocado green water laps
against deep brown stilts
a fresh breeze filters in
ruffles the novel pages
and scatters the Coke cans
nyala, impala sidle down to sip
and our eyelids droop
while nothing much transpires

until all in a moment
two wooly-necked storks
descend with a clatter
throw rainbows our way
then remind us
what love looks like –
gently plucking parasites
from the beloved’s trusting neck

poetry

luxury allowance

luxury allowance

poring over the hotel listings
the way I measured all the Teva straps
years ago:
which will be the most bang
for the buck?
now I’m bound to arrive
sleep-deprived
I’ll fall into dream
barely knowing where I’ve been
and you know all this
and hug me tight anyway –
the best deal I ever landed

poetry

after the soak

after the soak

tracers of steam
zip from your skin
wend their way
to stars and moon
for a moment
I can see
your warm-blooded aura
coils and curlicues
of vapor stream from you
as you stride by
part man
part tender electron cloud