"women are the sweetness of life."
poets can build galaxies from pebbles
& breathe the word of life into
brief glances,
but one must be careful with the power of creation
so i
scribble an obligatory, struggling to keep from
staining the page with the
exaggeration of new passion,
unsure if i am simply the writer who lives
downstairs,
plays his coltrane too loud & likes thunderstorms
i take a trip one flight up
where your eyes escort me to another
country,
your touch becomes a wet kiss on the horizon
of a birthday in a
warm july
i travel to your smile to hear stories of
wrecked trains parked
in your dining room
but the past is a vulgar thief
it steals the laughter from your
eyes,
tosses the broken edges of yesterday's heartache
into this
remembrance
i dream of erasing painful memories with lingering
caresses
from a steady hand
i rearrange the jagged stars of your past
i am the young boy smiling at
you with love letter eyes
i carve your name into the soul of graying
trees
i am your first slow dance, a trembling hand teetering on your
waist
i replace the melancholy prayers on your lips with urgent kisses
i
swear an oath to your beauty, become holy in your embrace
traveling tall miles through years of distance,
i arrive, wet from your
tears,
my only tool-a poet's skill
i mend your smile,
emancipate your
eyes,
& together
we ride that wrecked train from your dining
room
to the horizon of your birthday in another country.