Contractionless

I am not going to let them catch me
or even think they have seen my back
let them figure my next step
out of the myriad possibilities
there is a certain sleight of reason
in being a bit player in a world of ingenues
they do not realize that today and the next are the same
I am in no hurry to make the crossing
there is no need to cover my tracks

Thought Poem

A plague of thoughts has taken my consciousness
coherence is scattered in my mind like dust motes dancing in sunlight
all that I have to say to you must wait until tomorrow

Navigator

What can I learn in your kitchen
are you barefoot on purpose
does your blouse droop to just the right degree

Look at that cloud over there
does it remind you of when we made love
or when you pushed me from your bed

We might be too old for playgrounds
but not too old to conjure romance
I'll meet you behind the monkey bars

Remember I'm a navigator
It's all I know
all I'll ever be

A Woman of Your Means

A woman of your means
has the means to set the tempo
to whisper the cadence into receptive ears
and not mistake a man's longing
for failure to appreciate
the feast you've laid out

You put up with my feckless meandering
two left feet going in opposite directions
unable to circle back to a point of consistency
how can I expect you to ask me to dance
when I'm separated from my own shadow

Birthday

Once our needs and desires
joys and sorrows
were tangled in one blanket

It's been shaken out now
the memories
scattered in our conscience

If our paths were crooked
they never missed the beauty
of touching the same moment

the rhythm of wonder
folded our feelings
into that blanket of passion

Passion
to learn the reasons we were
the limits of possible
and for each other

Dreamers

We are peripatetic dreamers
our lives stitched from rival memories
and stunting misgivings we deftly hide
squandering our potential to live in the moment

Each blink a different destination
every feeling an unmarked path
you are the stew of my desire and witness
to my frantic imaginings of what love means

Traveler

I left a trail only the wind could follow
striving toward the summit
into the mist of tomorrow
casting sweet memories to seed the future

Whether it takes a leap of faith
or the bright smile of fortune
I'll not be buried beneath the residue
of disregarded dreams

Time cannot bully me
I will not hesitate in its shadow
when you find me on your doorstep
greet me as you would the sunrise