I Believe You When You Say That You Know Me

24 hours ago we were sitting so close to each other that we were one

You held my hand, kissed it. Told me that you... well...

"Last night, I wanted to kiss you."

But you didn't.

You didn't want to hurt your heart, you didn't want to hurt mine

You told me that sometimes, often, you can't stop feeling, you practically drown in feeling

And I understood

You taught me a bit about the difference between a boy and a man

Che bello che sei.
I wish you a full life, amico mio.

your silhouetted face stares me down

as moonlight shines on through

this skylight window, lighting my face

my heart goes out to you

blue eyes gleam through thoughts' clumsy stream,

silently flooding the night

unblinking, locked blue and brown

lightheaded, they take flight

he reaches in, her face in hand

she'll always remember this:

the world tonight is come to halt

and with trembling lips they kiss

Splintered wood and plastic chips

Somehow mean so much in the moment

But what are they worth after the fact?

Pretty faces, skinny bodies adorn the stage

And I am not one of them

If I was, people would want me to scrawl my name

On a battered program, too

Or a napkin; what do they do with such keepsakes?

My own are merely stuffed away in some place I cannot locate

Nor will I ever have need to

God bless those who have become nothing more than a signature to the rest of the world

Gloucester House

This place is still, though marching along

To the beat of seconds’ time

Screens have long since turned black,

And even mirrors are empty, dormant

Seats unused to sitting remain vacant

From behind the glass

A powder-blue streak of sky jabs my eyes

In a violent attempt to escape the darkness that will reign in a matter of hours

Even cars pass silently by this house,

Preserving the quiet ever so politely

Fall is here

And the corners of my mouth slide apart slightly

A breath escapes, but no one can tell

Because the only sound to be heard for miles around

Is the flight of leaves that have had their time

It’s over- hot thickets of air and midnight swims will be forgotten until July

And not long after frost has crept across the morning-lit ground

White will keep us inside, looking out and sipping our cocoa, 

Donning slippers and down blankets

And forcing the darkness of the earth away with fluorescent lighting