Love is Under Me

Centerless center

spinning tops inside Russian dolls,

revealing your romance

every time I say goodbye

to the doves and crows

who nest in my bedroom.

This path to God is a waltz

moving to the beat of a wisdom-laced heart,

and while I circle about you,

the bartenders in this tavern

keep pouring wine over my head.

Now and then

when I’m not distracted

by the beautiful women singing love songs,

I catch a drop on my tongue

and pass it to you

in a kiss meant for God.

I gave you my body and my dreams,

and all the empires I’ve created and destroyed,

I’ve sacrificed heart, throat, and crown

and now I stand before you

naked as the sky at dawn.

I am,

but I do not know my name.

I am called whatever the birds sing on quiet mornings,

the laughter of children on playgrounds,

the streaming tears on rosy cheeks of widows,

the fleeting ambition of men,

the precious moments that pass unnoticed in the eyes of lovers,

and the joy of all you mothers who are giving birth to me now…

Perhaps this is the first honest thing

I have ever said.

I’ve been keeping one hand under the table

the whole time you’ve been talking…

I’m holding on to my safe word,

and I dare not whisper it in your ear,

but shout it when you least expect it,

so I might vanish behind your tears

and hide just one more moment

before I die.

In these silent moments

sadness beckons

from inside my chest,

“I told you so!”

These barren landscapes

leave me no choice

but to let her sing her omens -

This wailing banshee

is trying to punch a hole

through my breastbone…

And I might let her,

and perhaps

just once

I’ll kiss you from the inside.

Love hired me to protect Death,
for without his immense, striking austerity,
she could not adorn my flesh
with her ornate disposition.
And so I built for Death
a revolving door to my soul
that I guard,
Love circles maddeningly within,
laughing,
until my eyes flutter backwards
into my head,
while Death looks to the future…

thousands of small fires
eagerly crawl the plains of my soul,
boredom and desolator slither between them,
as they await and tempt
Love’s thrashing winds
to unite their purifying candor
into this final act of God,
while I hold this trident
patiently at my throat
and slowly come alive
in the cycle of beginnings…

when angels cry
your heart grows wings
and they rest their heads
in your beauty,
yielding their sadness
to the light that circles you…

the strength of redwood trees,
tired from reaching for the sky,
respire in your eyes,
they press their roots deep in your love
and relax for a brief moment,
breathing in your divinity…

and the stars,
forever awoken by your smile,
gift their dance of light
to the worshiping world
below the night sky,
move to the rhythm
of Love pulsing
through you,
to every inhalation
and exhalation
that graces your sweet lips…

Newborn eyes look from within my heart
outward, as this subtle Mystery
has taken us as Its own.
breathing us in unison
across this Divine, infinite landscape,
revealing my self
through your words,
carried far beyond
the Blue Ridge Mountains
on this sunlight streaming
through every one
of Love’s ineffable edifices,
embodied like a sweet scent
of a respiring autumn breeze
touching your face
when we pour ourselves
into the sky
that holds us now.