Midnight thoughts
Intrude on seductive sleep
And push it away,
Pulling my mind
Into a late night tango
Of past moments and parallels.
This exhausting dance,
My body moving to the tempo,
Keeps moving to the music
Until my legs can’t keep up.
These thoughts,
These nights,
These unforgettable moments
Make for mental messes
To be ignored- an insomniac’s gift-
Until the next late night
Where my mind won’t stop dancing
To the beats of the past.
You are more
Than the sum
Of your lessons
Since the beginning of your time,
Stepping stones that lead
To potential
Forks, pitfalls, and hills
On this journey of life.
You are more
Than the difference
Of past and future colliding
The Impossible distance
From where you’ve been
And the peaks you’ve conquered
To where you’ll go
Speeding ahead into the unknown.
You are more
Than the quotient
Of your loved ones
Provided by a lottery
Good or bad
And the ones you choose
To reveal yourself to
Based on circumstance.
You are more
Than the product
Of society and individuality,
Pressure and instinct,
Colluding with each other
In public and in private
To create a version of yourself
For your success.
You are more
Than a complex equation
Of contradictories
That takes time and patience
For a solution.
You are more.
You are so much more.
A metamorphosis
Shedding skin
Beauty
And youthful wonder
To gain something more mature.
It’s not abandoning the old
But keeping it in a memory box
Pulling out the past
To renew
Become anew.
Standing on the balcony ledge,
You surprise me with a kiss.
This is where we begin to dance on the edge
Because if you leave, everything about you I will miss.
Like the way you catch my eye
And tell me you love me
In such ways that make me sigh
And hope forever yours I’ll be.
Or the way you laugh at things I say
And how you make sure I’m comfortable when we lie
Side by side while our elbows touch.
The only thing I need to know
Is exactly how much
You love me and when it will show.
But all we have is now-
As the curtains are closing, we take our bow.
Again, I fall for that wicked smile
Like a glimpse of sun
On a frigid winter morning.
Perchance your hands will warm my heart with
Elation as they grasp mine in the
Church of lust and no return to the
Island of insecurity from whence we came. I’ll
Abandon my life in a flash for a chance to have a future with you.
In front of me
You stand
In black and white
A 50’s dream
With suit-clad arms by your side
Raising up
As if lifted by clouds
To rest on my generous hip
And outstretched hand
As the music begins.
Behind me
Stands my past
With magnified eyes
Waiting for me to get lost
In the distraction of music
And misstep
Landing a sharp-as-a-knife-heel
In the heart of your foot
So they can shout
I KNEW SHE WOULD HURT YOU!
But what’s behind you?
I can’t see
For the room is too dark
From the extinguishing sneers of my past
Reducing the fiery passion
Creating tension between your body
And my own.
But I want to know so badly
Regardless of how hard you try
To stand in my way
I’ll step to the right
And see your face
I’ll step to the left
And you’re there with me.
Hold me close until the song ends
Until then,
We’ll keep dancing
In time and rhythm
Side to side.