I held my nerve
on capricious footing
and didn’t swoon.
 
Like being served
delicious pudding
without a spoon.
 
A messy choice,
to pass or probe
now that I’ve hung in.
 
I paused, then poised,
grabbed half a globe
and stuck my tongue in.

I came here to love
and be loved.
That’s all I needed to do.
I didn’t need
to cure a disease,
promote world peace,
win a Pulitzer prize,
or be labeled a chief.
I was here to love
and be loved,
that’s all I needed to do.
Because people like me –
they see straight through,
nice and clean,
while others get stuck
in the maze in between.
All those trophies get heavy
and they don’t fit
through the door at the end.
Its pretend
—the journey--
a magical set.
Look beyond what you can get
here.
Love and be loved --
It’s the secret of there.

How I hate
     that I can carry
          you up the stairs
               in one hand.
 
It’s the weight
     that makes me sorry
          when I compare
               you now to then.
 
And the form –
     cold to my kisses
          as we ascend
               toward the top.
 
My love is gone.
     My love is ashes.
          My love has ended
               in a box.

​Poet
 
I open my eyes
and the little words take flight.
They scurry and hide
before I have time
to snatch them.
 
To dark corners
they run and scatter,
but it doesn’t matter,
because one by one
I catch them.