I did not understand how joy could be so pure

Until I saw the sunrise
Like honey velvet dusting
The purple white mountains
Towering over their kingdom
As clouds whispered
Into their ancient ears

Until I brushed the petals
Of sleepy garden princesses
Soft and new
Bright and clear
With dew, the tears of stars
Kept safe in their hands

Until I let the air
Restless
Innocent
Wander into my lungs
And fill me with sweetness
Of the birth of the world

I did not understand how joy could be so pure

Until it was born in my soul

Wispy fingers
Dance with tendrils of my hair
Blow across my calloused skin
Whisper stories in my ears
Of love older than memory

Stories of fading sunlight
That burnt the brilliant blue sky
With ethereal passion
Making it clear just how tormented she was
To leave him

Stories of restless storms
Blinking and shattering
Covering that brilliant blue
And giving all of his being
So the thirsty earth could soak, and live

Stories of ancient giants
That entwined their branches and roots
Their leaves brushing together
Still reaching toward the sky
Waiting for every unyielding storm to cease

So I close my eyes
Reaching out for the wispy fingers of the wind
And ask him
My wise companion
"Where can I find a love like that?"

I dance across the paper
Flat and smooth
Foreign movements to all but me
And her

I know her
Better than anyone else
She trusts every secret thought
To me

Yesterday I fluttered across the page
In spirals, over and over
Beside numbers and notes
And lists

Today she wrote for hours
And salty drops
Spread my ink
Everywhere

The more she trusts me
The more I fade
I fear I will soon be
Nothing

And she will leave me
The one she trusted
With foreign movements and secret thoughts and salty drops
All alone