amazed...

Reflected in your eyes,
there shimmers a future I
had all but given up on.
One simple flicker of your
captivating smile renewed
my spirit.

A hopeless prayer answered
so unexpectedly now offers
joyful eternity beyond my dreams.

I wonder at our lives so
innocently separate until
such the fateful day on which
our paths collided.

Looking backward, I remain
amazed how deeply this
love has flourished.

Once a soul
crying for an answer in
the din of solidarity now
brims with a hope of
forever and always.

always...

In a cascade of exotic charm
and ethereal beauty, we
wandered.
Hands clasped together, we
embraced each day with spontaneous
enlightenment. Under the tropical
moon, wrapped in the warmth of
the island night,
I longed for nothing more
than to repose in your arms,
to touch my lips to yours, and
to feel the beat of your heart
within my chest.
Surrounded by a world draped
in eternal summer, glimmering
in sparkling hopes and dreams,
I relished, in a confident sigh,
that I am yours.

eleven

My soul brightens like the rising
sun at the thought of your face,
my heart unfolds as a spring blossom
at your touch.
I am vulnerable and innocent in
your warm embrace
yet strong and complete with
you by my side.
Your words send flutters and
shivers down my spine
like a cooling breeze on a hot
summer day.
A smile from your lips lifts
my lowest of spirits
and everything about you
brings life to
my dreams.

father

A pillar of strength and confidence,
greeting each new day with refreshed hope
and determination.

A spark of mischief glimmers in eyes
mirroring honesty and trust; a gaze
offering compassion and acceptance.

Hard, calloused hands bely a gentle
nurturing touch, and the incomparable
hearty laughter brings a grin to my
face.

Standing tall and certain,
unwavering in faith and values, you
are a cornerstone. Unwilling to allow
life's toils to falter one step,
you carry on.

In your footsteps,
I proudly strive
to follow.

jangle...

Frustrated... Balancing... Clawing to some vestige of sanity.
The moment I'm able to take a deep breath, pause, relax,
a new storm stirs and grumbles in the wake.
A constant, involuntary worry, returning to the surface
no matter my aspirations to stir it down.
It's always clinging to the fringes of my thoughts,
inhibiting childish carefree whims.

To spin and twirl in an open field, surrounded by
warm sunshine and dandelion seeds floating on
the breeze; to give in to spontaneity.

Haphazardly contemplating the origin
of such worries, fears, obsessions...lessons.
The very best are the hardest learned.
A soft voice in the very shadows of my heart
whispers melodies of doubt, of withdrawal, of
abandonment. Again I silence it in
desperation, determination, resolution.