A boy embraces the keys of a piano
And runs his fingers where another once played.
If he sits still, the instrument warms.
If he closes his eyes, he can smell tobacco.
Soon, he hears the full-bodied laugh
Which trembles through him like brontide
And sweeps him
To where his father might be.
An old man showed his grandson
The red-latticed edifice of a temple he had raised
The boy looked on wondrously and solemnly
For his grandfather had built walls to hold up the sky
And created a canopy that would shelter him all his days.
Thy grin is a sword of alabaster —
I’d turn my throat gladly upon it.
Lest thou think to do me harm,
I would bid selfish reprieve.
In life, thou hast claimed me,
Yet death rusts thick chains
And grants all freedom dear.
The condensate of your kindness
Beads futilely upon me
For I have oiled the soft places
And hardened all the rest
Against the many dangers
I’ll walk my path alone
My regret, now a burden
The only anchor I have known.
An embrace would meld us
Thaw us and bind us
Rough edges would melt and seam together
Forever, we would be unable
To be apart
Forever, we would be unable
To find sole solace
So our frail hearts
Love with caution
So we, who shake
Love in fear
Outside my window
A gray, thunderstruck tree
Sags with bent shoulders
Bare-branched and anxiously bowed
It tilts, as if into a future
Where you might return
Petrified, my heart
Refuses your vain entreaties
Deny the charm of your
Silver-plated words
Which do insinuate
Like cold serpents.
Give me your kiss of sin
So I may spit the poison
Into the well of your being
Which I devour —
A rapacious beast.
People say they give their hearts away
At the first date or kiss
During the nuptial vows
But I give my heart to you
Day by day
Moment by moment
Because love does not stop giving
It does stop growing or living
Just as we do —
I love you
RED GLADIOLA 