When I was young,
Smooth, young hands soothed me.
They wiped my tears,
Caressed my hair,
And these hands belonged to
Mommy.

Youthful oblivion blinded me
To the effects of time.
I never noticed that as I grew up,
You were growing up too.
You were perfect, infallible--
With all the wisdom of the world
Written in the lines on your palms.

An adult now, I know
The hardships you've faced, the battles you've conquered.
And I notice your hands--
Wrinkled by time's passing,
Lined with experience.
They still wipe my tears.
They still caress my hair.
And these same hands belong to my mother, my friend.

The chain that binds us,
Links forged in shared experience,
Grows longer with each passing generation.

None know beginning or end,
Merely what is in hand,
With the fabrication unceasing.

"I love you to the stars," said he
While with a sigh, she
Asked, "Why?
Reaching the stars is impossible because you'll never pass the sky."

Perplexed, he stroked her cheek
While he pondered what to speak.

He whispered, while a tear from her eye did drop,
"I love you to the stars because striving to be with you is something I'll never stop."

You, sir, are remiss.
I am not your
"Babe," your "sweetie,"
And I'm most certainly not
"Silly."

A reconsideration of
Our "relationship" is
Obviously in order.
You're too forward, sir.
Back the **** up.

I've decided.
I'm not ready for more than me.
Recent interactions have reminded
My brain why my heart severed with thee.
My past has imprinted my present
With fears of a recurrence--
Influencing the messages sent,
Preventing any occurrence.
Alone my heart is sound,
Yet afraid of a leap of faith.
Embittered, I've found
Affection to be little more than a wraith.
Leave my fears behind,
The past is in the past, you remind.

You,
Or you,
Or you, or you.
But wait--you're far away too.

It's like being in a zoo,
Where "no touching" is something I'll always rue.

My soul wavers like moonlight
Scattered amongst the stars.
Reverberating throughout the cosmos,
Indefinable.

Locked to the earth,
My body is terra firma.
Tethered tenaciously to the tectonic,
Riveted in place.