Love At the End of a Dirt Road

My love 
like a tall slim street lamp 
illuminates each room she graces
barefooted and breathtaking  
in ripped jeans 
and quiet brilliance

Not far from her reach
a country morning hums
dinner plate dahlias burst
untamed oak trees dance

Our souls stir, slowly
still intertwined 
in last night's dreams
wrapped in soft white sheets
and boundlessness

A home, our home -
at the end of a dirt road  
amid almond trees and wild flowers
And, the sweet bliss of finding the very woman 
you were born to love. 

For Melinda Lee

Home

To find home...

I've searched the rugged mountaintops in Laos and along the crust of China. I've crawled inside the Guatemalan jungle and down the shores of Vietnam. I searched without knowing what it would look like. I just trusted an unmistakable love would be there.Truth would be there. God would be there. Joy and kindness would splash about. There would be no doubt left in my mind. 

Seven months ago, today, my search ended. I found your heart. My home. Happy Anniversary, Melinda Lee. 

Extraordinary

On this ordinary day
in my ordinary ways,
I find your essence
your very existence -
extraordinary.

Durham, California

光

"Light"

Charcoal gray skies
feet dangling off the coast
of Shanghai
I overhear him say to her
Sweet Darling,
the heart is the sun
the mind is the moon
for there is only one light
the other but a reflection.

Shanghai, China.

Intertwined

At one point this morning
while we were making love
I felt the wings of your heart
tickle my soul.

Iposxesi

"I Promise"

As long as I have air in my lungs
but a single moment left in my palms
I will do what I can
to make a contribution to this world.


Antigua, Guatemala.

Sigao

"Silence"

I came here to walk alone
to find my own peace
my own space
my own place
in this world.

In this solitude
I've sought only God's company
looking to this ever-changing sky
this ever-moving tide  
the ever-present fears inside my mind.

How magnificent
after days of quiet
to hear Her voice this morning
inside the silence.

Written on the shores of Vietnam

Empty

Following the barefooted
tracks of angels
I reach back
deep inside my heart 
to clear it out
to start anew. 


Written on a mountainside in Laos. 

Eight

When our bodies turn to dust
let us be remembered
not for the love we stopped
but the love we gave

when our laughs turns to memories
let us be remembered
not for the differences we feared
but the tolerance we shared

when the sunrises that first time after we are gone
let us be remembered
for all the times we stood up
when others sat down

for all the times we turned to forgiveness
when others turned to fear
for all the times we spoke up
when others were silent

knowing inequality
can never be justified
knowing just because
this is how its always been done

and done in the name of God
doesn't mean it makes God proud.

Morning Light

For Melinda Lee  

There she lay
in the morning light
naked, save the shadows
cast by her own curves
flawless, complete

Her soft green eyes
remain closed
untouched by fear
holding only the slight
remnants of sorrow
from living raw and alive
in a numb world

Reluctantly I move
un-wanting, unwilling
to stir her, to pull her
from the dreams
keeping company
with her heart

Instead I remove my shirt
slowly press my breasts
against her back
wrap my small hand
around her waist
and, breathe in

I breathe her in
I breathe her
so deeply, so completely
into my soul

The morning light
unabashed, dances on
through the fruit trees
against the lawn
inside the dawn
as our witness.