the kiss that lasts all day -

he is my one,
though unpredicted,
this much I have come to know.

sometimes the learning is more powerful than the knowing
will be.

I have welcomed his intrusions,
and held him at bay,
and had no choice in the matter.

Eyes like those
brook no denial;
it angers me at times,
this helplessness.

Large hands on my neck,
the song of lilies,
the smell of linens and crustings;
I can taste the sleep.

Speaking to empty vessels,
brimming myself,
close to tears.

hold me hold me hold me hold me

I am just believing
because that's all you ever have.

And he keeps coming back,
through the sticky locks
on my heart,
and the barricades of the day,
and even the distances
in himself.

I need to believe.

Because dishes break and pictures fade
and stamens darken and tum,
and only the tilt of my head in the curl of his palm
and the closing eye
matter
now

or ever.




GLS
8.8.97