Thousands of Petals

Delicate pink blossoms float

With creek bubbles

Passing beneath a stone arch bridge

Like fairies

Grazing between willow’s soft fingers

Lily pads and lotus flowers catch them downstream

I sit on the grass amongst thousands of petals

Holding open a book I’m meaning to read

Words on the page call to me gently

But all I can think of

Is you

Seeking

Seeking my bear

I found cobalt dragonflies

Lounging on blades of grass;

Water gleaming, cradling boulders;

Knotted roots anchoring pines.

Two osprey circled the mountain air.

They crisscrossed,

And I felt you

Standing next to me

As if we would hold a secret

Of a dive into the alpine lake,

Returning to the sky with a fish.

Then, we would catch a kiss and a bear hug

Beside the shore.

Rainbows

Pouring through my window

Casting rainbows across my room

Plants have long awakened

Petals expanding into bloom

In the brightness and warmth

Colors dance across my face

Memories of steps with you

Our arms linked perfectly in place

With feet kissing the earth

A rhythm for our hearts to follow

Moving us deeper into our embrace

Erasing all doubts and sorrow

Sing

Covered in thick metallic plates

A shield against feeling

Anything —

Not even the persistent howl

For agency

For desires you decided had to die —

Knowing that cry within myself

I sensed it

Or maybe I saw it in an amulet

When I brought you to natural, warm waters

Sheltered between lilacs and willows

We submerged our bodies in the crystal reverie

And I called that voice forward

Breathing life into dormant dreams

Now,

Will you put down your arms

And listen to him sing?