In the Arms of Courage

After waking,

after the night
when all the stars shook
wondering if they might be next to fall,
shattered into pieces of the sky,
plummeting out of control
to the soil under our feet,

I cannot help but weep.

I am almost human again

knowing I could stand
like a sailor on this celestial sea

without leaving the ground.

It has been many years
since I cast off from the safe harbor,
opened my sails to glide
into these unknown waters
trying to map my course
toward untangled love

and birds who breathe softly
in the nest of my hands.

My eyes walk like strangers
into the heavens looking for traces of angels
in the flashes left by meteors,
the temporary lighthouses

where laughter balanced lightly
on stones stacked by God.

Words are not enough

after the galaxy has been my lover

and my blood believes in eternity
plucked moment by moment
from the tree of life.

I am more certain now than ever
that I will be healed

in the arms of courage

as he leans in
to kiss my third eye.

Leonid Love Song to an Imperfect Lover

Somehow I knew the heavens
had drawn themselves closer
even before I stepped out into the darkness
beyond my kitchen door and into the trees.

My path has taken me, again,
into the abundant fruit of the orchards
that hang heavy, desperate with sin,
and ready to be harvested
like a heart ripe with too much
unexplained love.

I do not take the warning
of stars falling from the sky
without notice
and cannot ignore the call
to gather myself, flesh and bone,
for the redemption
and what it means
to be washed in the light
of Leonid.

If you meet me by these waters, Lover,
hold my holy hands and speak in a whisper
until the vessel of your heart
is an empty container of faith,
all will be forgiven for our imperfections.

All will be forgiven
as we cast a glimmering net of hope
into the promise
of another broken dawn.