There was a knock at my door
And a gentle burst of wind
And as I opened the latch hinged tightly
To let him in
The warmth of his being
Filled the room
His spirit danced around my body
Caressing my skin
And the walls wept
From the sweetness of his arrival
For his presence
Had been anticipated
His returning expected
And as the years passed
With no sign of him
My sadness deepened
First tender longings
Then a deeper aching
And at last resignation
That he was lost to me forever
Then one day
When least expected
When my soul
Had sewed it’s penance
Paid the price
For loving a man
Known only in my dreams
In God’s time
He was home
VINES OF UNMET NEEDS

Speak to me
Of your needs and sweet longings
For if you hold back your wants
I will never learn
How to master the dance between us
That must contain the authentic steps
Of two individual lives
Ask for what you need
Like a leaf parched  
And let the waters of caring
Help us bloom
Knowing that it is to soon to know now
The direction of it’s unfolding
Without the passing of seasons and many suns
Dare to ask for what you need, my dreamer
And risk discovering that your needs will be met
Or  keep silent until a wall grows between us
Like vines of unmet needs
That if not tended
Will take the bloom off
The garden of new love
PARTNER IN FLIGHT

In love there are no guarantees
That even in its perfection it will last
Like a delicate winged bird
It rests upon your soul
Strokes its feathers against your heart
And coos until you ache
Often taking flight
If you do not pay attention to its needs
Caring for its delicate frame
It’s perch is tenuous at first
Until it learns to trust
That it has complete freedom in its nest
Only in communicating delicately
With this exquisite songbird
Does she learn
You are not her captor
But her partner in flight
ASK FOR WHAT YOU NEED

Your silence drapes over my days
As I wonder why you retreat….
Why the disconnection …
Did the women
Who loved you before  
So cage you
Teaching you not to risk the pain
Of having your needs unmet
You are a rare heart
Whose inner landscape is complicated
As is mine
With yearnings
for seasons of solitude
A gift so easy to give
For my dear dreamer, my own happiness
Depends not on your physical presence
But the depth of communication
Between or hearts
IMPERFECT ENDINGS
I wanted it to end
As it had begun
In a word-perfection
But the word did not exist
In the vocabulary
Of your disappearance
From my heart
I wanted your leaving
To be just and noble
With sufficient reason
For me to pardon
The great transgression
Of love’s betrayal
But it wasn’t
Instead, the daggar unprovoked
Unexpected, unexplained
To a reasoned heart
And now I am left questioning
The wisdom of my decision
To give my heart unconditionally
To a man
Who would take it from me
Like a thief in the night
Shatter it like glass
And leave me
To pick up the pieces
Of love’s unexplained disappearance
From the landscape
Of my now aching world