go sit by the river
and listen to the wisdom
of her running

who walks beside me
quietly, opening doors
and holding their weight
for me to walk through

this guy wakes up
next to me every
morning, massages my
dreams. Building green
houses for our futures
to grow.

This guy, despite my past
despite my zig-zag maps
despite me, believes
I'm worthy enough to
protect, honor, cherish

and so I walk, quietly
next to this guy
humbly. Free

I'm so naïve.  
There's no privacy
anymore.
Even if I wanted to
apologize
try to explain
listen to you sing.
I have to do it in person
and let you watch me
burn into the grown
into the ground
in front of all of our
old friends. 
Our new ones.
I still don't handle
my mind and body in
the burning, very well
as much as I want to
just hear you sing.

This love walk
is a puzzle. There is always one piece
too colorful, too jagged, the one you know 
is too distorted to fit.
Be patient, my friend. Breathe. Listen
to the waves crash, the melodies. There will be
a place for it
maybe not tomorrow
maybe not next week
but in time, as you put the rest of the
pieces
together
you will find its harmony.

That thing
     that you felt
          was your heart

I wonder
     how many lifetimes
          you live in
one night

The things I cannot write
     have everything to do
with eights and sixes.

The dogs barked
     in the bar but
I didn't even hear them
under the mystic 
     of your guitar
     I'm not afraid
of dogs anymore,
        anyway.