I want to see stories told
other than the stories
told by others
I want to hear bells peal other
than the bells of others ringing
in the distance
I want to see loves like my own
familiar shoulders
arms bent
or cradled against wood dark
the grains from the maple swirling
and unpredictable
the shadow from the light breaching
the window benching in the valley
of crocheted forearms
gossamer illuminated
hair blooming from
garden beds of dark
I want to remember that time
you took me down by the bend
in the river
to watch the water flow
over cold stones
and listen to its icy ripples
pounding like soft drums
as the waves beat against
the river’s bones
Deep in the belly
of the river where
the waves tumbled
one over the other
meeting like a
gym class of pimply
boys jumping
airborne
smashing bare
chests one against the other
for each successful point
scored
I want to recall
what it was like to walk
in crisp starched uniform
with a shirt as white
as dawn
to face the daybreak
in bare innocence
like a newborn
I want to watch my love
rise out of the river
a lip of water clasped round his deltoids
a glazed translucence
arms lapped by beads of pearlized river washing from his crown down across a burnished belly muscles displayed like cobble stones The river a slip of water a cuff clasped round the arm of an ancient warrior a garland of liquid rose round a muscled throat The dip in his clavicle gold adorned pendant from a god of ancient lore Hair, not slicked, but doused by H2O, springing back resistant, water unabsorbed unprocured mineral ore, Him a natural resource lying out in the open along the river floor To drill for diamonds you need more I want my love to recognize my voice crying in the distance calling him to hurry home.
I want to see stories
told other than the stories
told by others
I want to hear bells peal other
than the bells of others ringing
in the distance
I want to see loves like my own
familiar shoulders
arms bent
or cradled against wood dark
the grains from the maple swirling
and unpredictable
the shadow from the light breaching
the window benching in the valley
of crocheted forearms
gossamer illuminated
hair blooming from
garden beds of dark
I want to remember that time
you took me down by the bend
in the river
to watch the water flow
over cold stones
and listen to its icy ripples
pounding like soft drums
as the waves beat against
the river’s bones
Deep in the belly
of the river where
the waves tumbled
one over the other
meeting like a
gym class of pimply
boys jumping
airborne
smashing bare
chests one against the other
for each successful point
scored
I want to recall
what it was like to walk
in crisp starched uniform
with a shirt as white
as dawn
to face the daybreak
in bare innocence
like a newborn
I want to watch my love
rise out of the river
a lip of water clasped round his deltoids
a glazed translucence
arms lapped by beads of pearlized river
