I'll explode and fan outward, touch
everything in the whole world because

desperate laughter is the worst kind

Thoughtful, happy folk around
a campfire, making music in-
between the stars in their eyes
and those above

I'd like for the world to get a little
colder
           so I could have an excuse to curl
          up with you beside a shared fire

(as if I need one)

inhale and
compose like wildfire, searing
words passing warmth like a baton between
minds, distance easily traversed by
a whisper, by a calling

"I am here"

and all is well.

I'm a bit of a ****-up, sure
definitely not a honed ideal, a little bit
askew around the rougher edges, with no
niche found as of yet to proudly call
my own in this humbling collection of
determined bodies, but I wouldn't have
it any other way

I must be me. Otherwise
there is no chance
whatsoever

      and every dream is
      worthless (which of
      course is miles from
      true)

stand up and start
up (you'd better get
up) with fiery eyes and
a wistful heart

In the end, the little ones
scampering about peppers, vibrant
red and yellows and oranges disappearing
into tiny mouths, behind toddling grins with
Meme and Pepere beaming, a
beautiful sailboat in their minds' eye that
was fortunate enough to lose sight of
the shore long ago

Save the date just
for breathing

no walls, both
open