The Smile of a Stranger

There you are Love
just over my shoulder
ready to reach out and touch
the skin that covers this modest soul
like a tent ragged in the wind and rain
waiting for the sun to break out
and warm us.

On nights like this
it is like you never left me.
You’ve loved me over and over
without ever placing a finger to the curve of my lips
or cupping the flesh of a smooth hip
or tracing the breasts offered to sunsets
where we almost denied ourselves—
You surprise me, delight me
with that sweet understanding
that the body is not necessary for this love
to satisfy the flower essences trapped
inside the pulsing of blood,
starting these tremors in my core
like the Earth suddenly coming to a halt,
breaking to fragments of clay and dust
releasing me from all ignorance and suffering.

I only have to close my eyes,
my Sweetest One,
and find your breath
fanning the embers of eternity
at the nape of my neck.
This small gesture of hope
opens my heart to a sacred text
we both signed our names to
with each lifetime we have found each other.
This truth leaves me filled to overflowing.
The Empress of this heart is never alone
when I only have to call your name
and you answer me in the smile
on the face of every stranger I meet.