distant arrows

i had a dream that

you brought me jewels

that you swam up on

my shores

salty and thirsty

as ever

threw yourself on

my soft swelling

dunes

shook yourself off

and with a roar

showed me a

mouth full of your

hard shiny

love

naturally occurring

i gather the clouds

in my net made of

golden jellyfish

i scoop each one

up with my bare hands

feel their nebulous

shivering ghostly

bodies recoil as

they smell electricity

nearby

i press my neck

against the sky

let the wind stroke

my hair

i focus on

accumulating

coolness

instead of

longing for

a volcano

vacation

again

collection worthy

paper cranes in

the sky

silently follow

cacti beneath

slow shadow

moving across

thirsty earth

until the shadows

grow creeping

moss

damp beaten

trail sucks into

a world of

no more sky

instead rows of

green headed

pines dancing

alongside

ghost

trees

where silence

goes for

peace

wish you were here

branches

stroking

branches

twisted winter wood

scraping against

the bluest truest

sky

quarreling birds

gravelly squelching

tires

barbecue playing

summer tricks

in someone else’s yard

baritone spanish

singing old

love songs

every eyelash dipped

in gold from

this strange winter

sunshine

this fleeting

sweet

now

and other unpromises

i still wear

your

pin

though it fit

better when things

were bigger

it fit better

when it was covered

in your scent

when i could roll

around and pant

all over it

it fit best when

i found out

that you were

a person who

did every single

precious

meticulous

intricate

thoughtful

thing

for

love

though it fit

when

i was one of

those things

too

though i won’t

be a thing

again

i still wear it

because the color

looks nice

on

my

heart

this is this

the

ghost of

a moth

the most fragile

perfect curves

the gray on gray on

gray on ether

on whisper heartbeat

watching is a

fire breather

lacy flames in

sips and swallows

illuminating the

night behind

the thick velvet

sky sulking

once again

snubbing by

the moon

never o’clock

the darkness

has reached the

threshold

is

snorting and clawing

and baying to

come in

the viscous kind of

darkalldayallnight

look into the

distance try to find

any light

desperate howl

inside

it’s beating

down the

door now

my sword

ready so

come

not a song

the dawn comes

slinking in

stretches itself

until it

splits into

curling unfurling ribbons

snakes around the

darkness until

it’s a golden

crown

opens itself

wide and swallows

down

deep

here is where

i begin

again

here is where i

worship

supplicate

bring my

most precious

offerings

with

for

because

love

open water

you don’t like it

when i get in

your head so

i don’t

instead i collect

white roses

make a pillow of them

with the strength of a

mountain

just in case you

need that

particular

fragrant breast

to lay your

head on

you don’t like it

when i stroke your

(soul)

so i don’t

instead i write

songs of loyalty

and sing them to

the wolf moon

until she weeps

stars

counts herself lucky

lights herself on fire

just to witness

love like

this

again

two wildflowers

there is a way

to hold fire

to watch it

dance in the

hands of another

there is a way to

feel the flames

slide across your

face

down your body

until you

walk on lava

trail embers in your

dresses

stand holding

hands with

the hottest

forest fire

you have ever

known

and here’s something

else

you can also

put it gently down

let the staccato hush

of your North Star footsteps

be your

lover

instead