seen in Rock City, NY

happiness is not a person

happiness is not a person
but when the moon floats
like liquid copper
in your eyes
forgive me
if I forget

happiness is not a place
but when my feet slip
on the rocky path
to your heart
forgive me
if I forget

happiness is not a person
but when I drift
like a lost leaf
onto your shoulder
forgive me
if I forget

wild woods

my heart is clay

my heart is
clay

spilling in a thick river
out of the earth

not the harsh flicker
of gold

but the soft burnish
of knees

the liquid sheen
of lips

the muscle of
this heavy orb

swinging and twinkling
across heaven

sunbeam

rainbow

I look for you
in the dew

and in this mist
that resists my sad arms

you are not in the grass
but in the air

where tiny drops of time
hover in space

waiting
to converge again

into the rainbow
of your face

yellow glow

this kiss

this kiss
is left in admiration
on your cheek

just beside your mouth
that opens
as if to speak

and lifts
as if to smile
and still

the only sound
is the blue hiss
of moonlight

that drifts
onto the shadow
of this kiss

summit trail

hold out your hand

hold out your hand
to catch
the trembling rain
pain breaking into drops
of laughter

hold out your hand as
the darkness of your throat
spills out
like mercury
through your fingers

hold your hand out
empty
as deep black moonlight
round as the hole
in your soul

and the universe
will rush in
its damp feathers
quivering
in the cup of your palm

portrait, by herself

in the dark

is this your skin
your soul, or your silence

that I touch in the dark

is this my heartbeat
soft as bats' wings

that reaches for the faint trail
of warmth

spinning from your breath
across the distance

golden stars

growing into death

if I must die
I want to exhale
my soul into the wind

through fingers twisted into stars

if I must die
my heart will crack through its door
like a seed bursting
into flight

growing into death
dry wings will fly again
into autumn's
silken air

hard roots
unclasp my body, and fall away

while bees capture
the sun's golden hum

endlessly
kissing me
into sleep

tree web

no words for

no words for
the way your heart
sings along your veins
and skips
in tiny ripples
over your throat

no words for the smoothness
of your pores slipping into mine

no words for
the sweet taste of your skin
like a wild island
the soft scent of home
on this unknown shore