skeleton

like the silver tea set you got for a wedding gift, you gotta polish me in order for me to shine.

i promised.

hey, come back
i missed you up there
way up in your clouded tree.
my body is a mountain range
and we will hike
past the snow, and the streams across my torso
and my knees.
up to the top, which is inside my skull.
if you find it, you can drink,
the fountain of youth sleeps in my mind.
but you must search
struggle
and swim.
it is not easy to love me,
but,
i will make you young again,
i promise.

i don't lie, not when it matters.

downtown looks like don't own

somehow, i have found steady ground. after four years of hurried worry, pushing the clocks back up against the wall, salvation has swept through my bedroom. at last, it's easy to love.

even i think you're blinded by conceit.

Sounds from the party shear away
into echoes. Feet stop and
take root in the sand.
It’s easy to love you now,
my mind’s stopped changing.

Boats nudge each other
like sleeping lovers
with each slight wave,
doing their slow dance
as lights across the river
melt and gutter out.

When the wind has exhausted itself
in the pre-dawn, I bury the fire, alone,
and I hear another voice gliding,
dipping its wings in the water
on its way to me.

Finishing my wine
I walk into the river,
the sound of bells in my ears,
and make my way to you.

Newcastle, 1993

three kinds of yes.

the tears have dried, the anger has intensified, the self worth magnified.

as my revolution begins.

I am unsure of my emotions.

How do you say goodbye to your father when he moves halfway across the country?

please leave me alone.

please, make this the last time.
if you leave now, do not come back.