she with and to me

 

I'm lifted and leveled

captive to her whim

reduced and replenished

bared and filled to the brim

 

I'm stirred from her soul

mine plucked by one string

plays the song from my heart

the only one I can sing

 

I fall forward by whisper

my words trip on talk

they melt in the marrow

upon wish over walk

 

I cannot convey how

profound came this need

to water for wonder

this one precious seed

 

yet perfection's imperfect

as it grows from thin roots

until one blossom is borne

by the bud of two shoots

 

It's the gift that is given

by the gift that's returned

through the lateness of loving

from time broken to learn

 

she lifts me to great heights

I might never have spanned

had her touch not have reached

through this distance of sand

 

she shows me to me

in ways I've never seen

as we follow our footsteps

over path never been

 

The uncertainty's certain

though unsure are the days

that love is lifes vision

and within us its gaze

 

      

               s. paul (Dec. 2019)