This Day Is So Vibrant And Vivid, Exposure Turned Up The Sky Such A Dense, Saturated Blue

Do not cry for the girl Who never became a woman She is still here Inside me, I am her She was not Replaced by a man She still lives in my body And is so free and light Bathing contently in The sunshine of my mind

Cry for those men and women, All those in between, Who had the strength To live openly Physically, Wonderfully visible, Awake for the first time, Cry for those who's lives Were ended simply for Stepping out of their cages

You say goodnight to me As though singing a song Against my earlobe Whispering a melodic prayer Beating against my eardrum The rhythm of your words A steady lullaby kiss Melting on my lips as you Fade with me into a dream

I stand with my feet In the water Letting the icy waves Bury my feet in the sand Erasing my footprints So I had never Walked here

The water that touches me Touches you It glides along your ankles And the tide rushes over us Though we stand In different oceans

When I get home My cat looks at me The same way she did Back then Only the fur on her chin Is gray now Her eyes are watery

There's a tap on my shoulder I know it's you I look behind me And all I see is the door I turn the lock Turn off the front light Going to bed without you

You're in between the sheets Your blankets are green Mine are brown Together we must be Like the earth That connects us

The salt of the sea Is on my skin I think that you can smell it That with my eyes closed Your arms around me Whispering Take me back there

My cat settles herself In the bend of my knees I wonder if she remembers you As she yawns loudly Falling asleep soundly Just as I do

I slip into my skin Like slipping into A favorite sweater I am the nurturer Inside my own body A home and hearth Tranquil and secure My body is a warmth I am warm here I am so very warm

"Be gentle with me" I say to myself, or to my thoughts I want to detach myself from them Thought and I Are not one in the same

Thoughts can be cruel tricksters Jokers and bandits They reside within me at times But they do not speak in my voice They snicker when I do not

"Be forgiving" I say to myself, in spite of my thoughts No one is as savage as they are Intruders, there is a "No Loitering" sign You can enter but you cannot stay

I swam with Fish from Other seas Other creatures From fresh And salty waters Knowing In the depths Of my heart

That All I really Wanted was To settle In a quiet Backyard pond With you

This dreary morning January rain Falling onto icy snow Makes my eyes feel Heavy and tired

Roads caked with slush Cars splash through Brownish gray waves And I fall Down into the sludge

I sink like this month This month of melancholy I am crumbling Into these dirty waters Let me sleep in them

Let me sleep until This downpour lets up Until then I am fatigued These rains Beat me into submission

There's a little cave On a little beach That for most people Is just a little out of reach But for us It's always worth getting there

Past the palm trees Through the vines We walk there barefoot Taking our time Since for us It's our magic little somewhere

We lean on the damp rocks Hand in hand And we don't talk Dig our toes in the sand Our paradise is Quiet like like the waves

I watch you Looking out towards the sea Where the gulls cry Where you walk with me When you can't make it here To our simple hidden cave

We light our candles They light up our eyes Burn up our fears And our disguises So by amber nights We really see each other

When the sun comes up We go out again Say another farewell To our secret den Go our separate ways Always coming back for one another

I crave the stability Of change The comings and goings Of people Of emotions Of attachments And the letting go

More specifically I crave the consistency Of growth The calm acceptance Of loss The parallels between Two lives flexing And bending and crossing

I crave the certainty That comes with Evolving beside My beloved Sailing down a river That splits And to where?

I crave the security Of knowing Nothing Wrapped in a warm Blanket of presence No future to make me Feel so uncertain

Ashes to ashes I'll get your ashes next week And hold you as dust