sitting in that booth
with no lumbar support
holding hard amber bottles
cold nectar inside
spilling onto the table
conversation pouring from
our mouthes
drinking in these moments
laughing until i ached
friendships stain the heart
and leave their impression there

a sugar crystal beads
on the edge
of my lower lip
an ordinary moment
until you lean close
to awake me
to its presence
but instead of saying it
you lean closer
and while looking
right into my eyes
you lean even closer
and sweep the crystal
from my lip
using yours
my lip which once
held the crystal
turns upward
into a glorious smile
Looking into your eyes now
and leaning close
your lip does the same
Sugar on lips
must be contagious that way.

A small boat rocks
in a small pond
clean clear water
with a dark bottom
shadows of rocks
and ripples
ripples from events
long before its time
force the boat to sway
gently
rocking back and forth
to the lull of the waves
pushing and pulling
one way
then the other

breaking down a door
instead of turning the knob
is an easy solution
with much effort
and the critics will cry
and scream
and wail and moan
but in truth
they fail to see
the simple perfection
turning a knob
over and over
can wear a wrist weak
kicking a door down but once
is a solution
to a problem greater
than the one visibly at hand.

I remember how you said it….
When you said it…
The look in your eyes…
The way they were asking a question
More than making a statement…
The way you said I … love… you??”
Like maybe you weren’t so sure after all
I remember how I felt when you said it…
The way the words just didn’t quite roll off your tongue…
Like they came from your head instead of your heart.
How odd an occasion it was…
And how wonderful…
I don’t know how love ends…
I can’t pin point the exact moment when love ceases to be…
But I know the moment when I realized it…
When you looked at me and asked more than proclaimed..
“I love you”
I knew the question you were asking… the statement you were making…
And so I said “yeah, I know ya do”
It wasn’t story book or picture perfect.
It wasn’t as if a hidden symphony began to play
It was raw with emotion yet so calm and diluted
I smiled in my weird little way
I hugged you good bye
And truly it was good bye
I know that you loved me in your own way
As I loved you in mine
Then somehow on some distant plane,
The love died..
Or we grew up…
Or reverted back to a dream filled childhood
We knew it was over
And we were ok with it…
And we knew it.
Maybe that is where the love was after all.
In your questioning little I love you…
It asked every question…
And answered them all.
Thank you for that I love you…
It was the most meaningful one of all