I Remember

I remember you for

The smile you gave as I

Loved your scarf and maybe 

Already new you

I remember you for 

The moment we merged

In the forest on

A picnic table entwined 

As the pitch night enveloped 

Us as we desperately tried

Not to succumb

To the inevitable 

I remember you as the

One without judgment

Tears burning across your face

As you longed for a look 

Of love and wanting for something 

That came too soon 

And I am certain 

I loved you then without 

A question or doubt

I remember your uncertain 

But unstoppable hope

As we crashed our lives 

Into each other's 

But just as friends 

Not too serious, laughing 

In hopeless entanglement 

Afraid of what we

So deeply felt and 

How hard we fell in 

I remember your voice 

That too early morning 

As you trembled

To ask that I accept your love 

Without anger or pride 

As though I had not already 

Long before 

I remember the night when 

We gave ourselves the freedom 

To be the love we had 

So long denied out of

Fear of being wounded 

Again

Finally feeling freedom

From our past lives 

As the fear we had

Used to build walls to protect

Crumbled and we

Once again knew 

The joy of being vulnerable 

I remember the rain soaked day 

And the sun swept the clouds 

Away as God gave a blessing 

On the most unusual of days

And we laughed and laughed and couldn't hold back any longer 

I remember when you took

My hand upon your heart 

Creating our beloved daughter 

And the excited trepidation 

Of birth on a day that one 

Soul left in tragedy and 

And a new life took its place 

I remember your constant 

Forgiveness and endless hope 

That time and again pulled me 

From the very edge into 

Your arms as you lay

Your head against my heart 

I will always remember that you 

And always you 

Are my one and only 

My always and forever

My reason, my hope, my choice 

To rage against the darkness 

Of a world that ever more 

Feels stripped of compassion 

I will never forget that you 

Saved me and continue to

Save me with a love that 

Is impossible and 

possible somehow 

In its infinite capacity 

I will always remember

From this moment back 

to the day

I loved your scarf 

That because of you 

I have known the deepest 

Love and joy 

That no person is worthy of 

And I can only hope 

That the humble gift

Of my eternal gratitude 

And the entirety of my soul 

Is enough 

For you to keep me 

In your grace

As the angel who 

Chose to love a fool

is there more?

I just hope in silence. 

is this a dream

Is this a 

Dream

Is dream

This 

A

This a dream

Is

Is a dream

This is 

Dream this

Is

A

This a dream

Is a

Dream is this

A dream

This is a dream

Marriage

it will take you apart

it will break you down, building you up

and you create something new

two beings, independent

strong, full of gusto

eyes wide and willing to take

a risk, the grandest

and most wonderful of all

choices, a decision to jump

to fly, maybe fall

and yet...

Where once there were two

something more, something grand

they find a road to walk

only they know, alone and together

they build a home, make a place

and

if by chance they are mighty

in spirit, in will...

Where once there was less, or none

two become one

two become one, you see

two become we

why does a child's skin color matter?

Why does a child's skins color matter when they laugh

A mother's when she cries

A father's when he protects his family

A grandfather's when he shares wisdom

A grandmother's when she wants to keep you fed

And warm

Remember we are all children of this grand adventure

Love has no name, creed or religion

Hope is not only for those with means

It is the thread that binds us all together

As one hand holds another

We walk along

Always searching for a place to rest our hearts

Some place warm and inviting

With cherished voices filled only with compassion

And a hug to ease the pain

Life is so very long, and over in an instant

All that lives beyond our place on this planet

Is the times we have shared 

And those we have touched with our kind words

So I beg you to take a look around

You are surrounded by beauty and wonder

Let it flow through you

Like water

And let go of this hate, that you may swim

In the oceans of laughter and not drown

In the hopelessness of inner turmoil

I love you all and I will love you always

For I am forever reminded that we are all human

And we all have humanity

Scent of Memory

Nostalgia 

is the most powerful of all drugs

It will bring you back to

the place of your most intense joy, 

and tare you away 

in the same instant leaving you 

tear soaked and broken

How I hate it so

and long for it always

A prisoner of hindsight 

Nostalgia is the God of lost moments 

It holds the keys 

To all the doors 

forever locked by time 

So we spy through the keyhole 

Longing for answers about why

Nostalgia is love 

It is the only tangible way to relive

the moments, the never ending 

Oceans of joy, that we once swam in

And now can only hope for a glimpse 

If only in tiny, bittersweet doses

Of the times we were better 

That we can never live again