Distance – Page 70

sandals dangling
water lapping at her thighs
her lover, the sea
–
billowing white clouds
salty ocean mists
kiss her face

clinging to the flames
my mortal sins escape me
carried by the wind
–
absolution
casting bread
upon the water

small talk in their booth
a dinner plate shatters and
she’s back in Iraq
–
turning winds
a yearling doe
prepares to bolt

luminous, rising
from below an ebony lake
in her hand, a sword
–
sunlit hillsides
shadows rolling
slowly to the shore

traveling down this
river of asphalt toward
the vanishing point
–
maple leaves
swirling eddies in
a mountain steam

aloft and adrift
floating ever so gently
just out of my grasp
–
innocence
tethered
by a string

an ominous day
dark clouds pass before the sun
portents of ruin
–
stippled hillsides
revealing light and
fleeting shadows

guiding my journey
walking with the ghost of you
on my chosen path
–
dripping boulders
surging white water
streams diverging

thin walls, raised voices
across the street, it’s last call
in my third floor flat
–
crow on a gaslight
fog blanketing
cobblestones

nubile and supple
and every move reminds me
of my need for you
–
warm afternoon sun
sodden and hungry
awaiting the spawn