I thought they were kidding when they casually
proclaimed the stars that night spectacular

now, faced with a crowd of relative strangers on a learned rooftop seeking
solace in the sky, I know what they knew then

that each day, night, moment, nuance flickers once
and burns out, though light continues

and when the darkness smothers me in night, walking halogen-bright streets
I run for my pen

every which way and the colors
zing faster
            still could you sticky note
      me like candy down glass in a
rainstorm not wild
                       enough I'll just
                                                                take a quick breather and
                        we're back with
                all reds and maroons, learning to
                  tell the difference between (frustrated maverick
                       painters in wetsuits) and bridges and icicles
warm to the touch, is it too
much
     to linger on
               here with the water?
                                  but keep your head down or you'll
                     drown in the bundles of
                              soft pressure backwards
                          with live culture hands

You've gone and gotten a new
coat now, and why?

the old one was just fine.

with its patchwork holes and
zipped up stories (never would
tell) it might be

less exciting to wear out and
about perhaps, but far more
comfortable

Who is the awake? of
cold rainy fingers dripping top
hat to foot

wave wave to the shadow tied to this wall as if
it wouldn't recognize you as if it
wasn't obligated to return the favor, as if it had
a choice

and who is the laughter? disembodied and
floating through hallways, indistinguishable
anonymity rising and flailing again as if light
makes all the difference

don't we know it?

And who can describe the drive
that leads teachers to teach and
dreamers to reach for their
impossibles

I'm reaching, don't
stop teaching me the impossible
never taken for granted (you've got a
heart so big)

my weakness is not that which might
seem to take eleven years or longer, I
revere you and in reverence might
falter a time or two with the noblest
of intentions

and always the pictures I've shared through
words like hugs guiding me, granting
purpose and definition to each struggle
and success, leading alongside cliffs
watched out for to the end that is the
present and the start that is a future

God help me, I cannot imagine
the newness without you, let this
bumbling wordfall, this clatter of
heart assure, soothe

for I am real as the
bones of the oak, as the
glow of a fire on
timeless sand

and just as solid and
just as warm, let me
show you

All I know beyond
a flicker of a flame of a
doubt is that, for whatever
inexplicable reason, you are
fascinating

and each and every day, every
moment with you brings new
light into the equation

so bring on the days and
build up a lifetime

always more things to say
always missing the chance