Lightning Strike

It's a volatile conversation
between heaven and earth
damage
beauty

messages are fleeting
transfer of energy
Earth releasing to sky what it can't
hold anymore

interception distorts
turning sparks and magic
to ash
char

so we watch
sheltered
just for a glimpse
a flash of insight

Repair of the Brokenhearted

I took my heart out for him tonight
a pitiful ball of cloth wrapped around glass pieces
I unwrapped it without a word
letting the pieces fall helter skelter into the usual mess

I let him look me in my eyes
when he took the pieces in his hands
let him read the grooves and sharp edges
in the lines on my face
matching pieces to the damage in my skin

He held my gaze
slipping pieces into new patterns
locking them in place

He didn't hurry
patient in this impossible puzzle
He read the tear tracks
Paused when sitting was all I could bear

Until he handed the last piece to me

Let me find a place for it
before taking my beautiful new heart
wrapping it too tenderly for words
in the ragged old cloth

He handed it back
but didn't walk away.

First Timers

To the Moab Children (Jordan, MerriLyn, Kyle, Latesha)

Everything was beauty
Sagebrush to sand
Earth soaring to sky in formation

We drank in the sights
pouring it deep so it couldn't seep away
Beauty hard edged with heat and pain

We were pushing
ourselves, our limits
each other

We hiked from arch to arch
red dust tattooed into our skin
packing everything in moments

Sudden reality
striking us to our core
singing notes we'd never sung

We listened to stories
stories in sand
blown away and muddled by morning

We listened to the rocks
drenched in culture
in us

We left the rocks behind
Stories
soaked into our hearts

Red rock returning us home
Best Friends Ever
To the beauty of every day

Stardust and Snowflakes

We are stardust
snowflakes of existence
impossibilities wrapped in skin
bursting in light
we go out in flashes
live in moments
leaving endless songs
imprints on the windows
etches in history
embrace the seconds
drink it all in
because, we are snowflakes
bursting in
light

Named

I wanted a secret name
one that whispers of glory and fame
A name of destiny
honor won
worthy of great deeds
in sonnets sung

a secret name known only to me
a name to show me all I could be
a warrior and hero of old,
a noble and great one,
fearless and bold

a name that is strong and made of light
a name that remembers to never give up the fight.

Corked Bottles

I am a corked bottle
Uncap and hear the pop
dust clings
clouding the glass

Dip me
Drown me in starlit waves
wash me out
clear my clouds

Till I am shining
sparkling

close me up
Keep me Safe
So that I stay filled with light

Trained to Silence

For MerriLyn and the conversation we had a few days ago

They tell me to speak
to share my thoughts
but I have been trained to silence

to listen to secrets
and keep my own

I have been trained
unanswered questions
or questions unreturned

I keep my thoughts to myself
Listen to you chatter on

so instead of speaking
silence is my trademark

trained too well
you'll have to pry the words from my
iron bars from off my window
one by one