The first, tentative, uncertain kiss

Between me and you.

Loving the way your lips taste and feel

Against mine.

Kissing.

Again, and again,

Longer and longer, then harder,

Softer and sweeter.

Until the outside world drops away

And only you and me are left.

It is as if the concrete walls

Surrounding my heart have

Crumbled, the way earthquake

Might break down a dam.

And I feel all the love I have

Long, long  suppressed

Comes rushing out to flood my body.

I steal a glance at my hand.

Not sweating at all, though I

Had every reason to think it would.

Instead, the most beautiful gossamer white light

In the universe

Issues from my palms, like floodlights

Shooting into the black October sky.

We are literally lighting our

Lives

With the love we are making.

Now we are nude.

Now nothing can come between us.

I am swimming in your cobalt blue eyes

And losing myself in your brunet hair.

Your knowing, loving, incandescent

Smile

And the hand you place on my heart

Are a silent, sexy signal.

And so

I ease into you.

Now we are one.

One unit, one being.

One united and holy thing.

I have become the light I have beheld

For all my life.

I want this ecstasy, this satori

To last a million years,

Rather than a few minutes.

You are whispering sweet, chocolate thoughts

Into my ear

In a language only we can understand,

And in a deep, purring voice.

As if a switch goes on,

I let loose.

I scream, and so do you.

Long and loud.

We have become primal beings,

We are stronger, more impassioned, and

Wilder than the real world

Could ever let us be.

And then the screams subside.

We lie there.

Spent, sublime and sated.

The light rises again.

Only now, the sky is bluer,

The grass is greener,

And the sun does not burn,

It caresses.

Again I lose myself

In your captivating,

Magical face

And the words finally come.

“I love you.”

ON A PHOTOGRAPH

Now I see the photo

Even in my sleep.

Her stunning smile,

Her fiery hair,

And the smile that could

Light the path to heaven.

Irradiating goodness,

She points at me,

Telling me what mere words

Cannot.

She knows I

Am the one to watch.

She feels my worth

And wonder.

Her smile comes as easy

As an angel’s.

And I feel her belief

And her pride in me,

No matter how much or

How little we know

Of one another.

I now carry that photograph

In my heart

The way you might carry

George Washington in your

Wallet.

THE ROPE

Cold, tired, wet and naked,

I cast about in the pitch black

For something to hold onto;

Or for a single shaft of light to see

My way through.

No doubt I created

The dark, desperate

State I am in.

And I think, “Show me something.

Show me anything.

And forevermore

I will live in the light.

Then, at my feet,

I feel a rope.

A slim, slender rope.

I pick it up, and hand over hand,

It guides me.

Or I am guided by it.

I walk along,

Keeping the rope in my hand,

Never daring to let go.

And the black, black world

Gradually becomes grayer,

And slowly becomes lighter,

Until finally, after what feels

Like a thousand years,

I emerge into the light.

And the world that I left

Is more beautiful than ever

Before.

All the people I forsook

Are waiting with open arms

And forgiving hearts.

I look down at the rope.

That slender, tiny thread

That meant so much to me

The twine tells me

“I’m always here for you.”

The Trombonist

To Josef…and his Mother

The tall young teenage man

Stood straight and soaring

Among his peers.

Wearing a Black bowtie

And a crisp white shirt

And holding a golden Trombone.

The drumbeat began

And that tall young

Teenage man

Began

To play that trombone.

There were two trumpeters

A tuba

And a French horn

But the trombone filled

The gym

With the warmth and grace

That could only come

From within

That tall, proud, young teenage man.

He was playing the trombone

Not just with his fingers,

And not just with his mouth,

But with his whole soul.

His smile dazzled the building,

As though a star had fallen

Upon the street outside

And he had been

The first to see it

Shine.

He was no longer

Just another teenager.

He was a star.

His mother craned her neck

To meet my eyes

And said with becoming pride,

“See why I’m so proud

Of my son?”

NAKED

I cannot tell you how badly

I want to be absolutely

Naked.

Cast away all my shame

And all my fear

And become pure

And beautiful.

Becoming the man

I always knew I was.

The clothes that itch

And the shoes that barely fit

No longer serve me

Any purpose.

I want to wander away

Someplace safe and loving.

Into the bosom of nature.

Here I would shed all of my

Clothing

And all of my

Trappings.

I would be as naked as

The trees

Surrounding me.

I want to be naked.

And I want to scream.

Long, loud, and hoarse.

So I can let go of the anguish

Of the world that I have left behind.

God, just to be naked.

Free of constraints

And prying eyes.

To be whole

And unashamed

And finally, firmly

Fearless…

open arms

Tenatively, the baby stands on her feet.

She looks around, and wonders who is there

For her to walk to.

Just in front of her, the baby

Finally finds someone—

Her Mother.

She kneels before her proudest achievement,

Clapping her hands and opening her arms.

Baby’s tiny brain, growing every second,

Knows one thing for certain—

Love is waiting.

And so Baby smiles to Mommy

And she takes the first steps.

One foot advances toward the other,

Uncertainly at first,

Then with greater sureness.

Baby instinctively picks up the pace,

And Mommy’s heart swells with pride,

Like a great big balloon.

Baby finally makes it

Into Mommy’s tender embrace.

And her face says it all.

“I did it, Mommy! And I’d do it again.

And again, and always.”

I walked to my Mommy in the exact same way.

And so did my sister.

And now she calls herself Mommy.

And for as long as she lives,

Baby will walk, then run, then stride

Into Mommy’s open arms.

WAKING UP

I woke up first thing this morning

And I found myself placing great value

On my own breathing.

Lying there.

Drifting in and out of the dream state.

Wiggling my bare toes and

Deliciously uncovered feet.

Valuing and reveling in

Each and every breath I took.

I wondered why I had not mastered

The art (I know there is one)

Of taking longer and deeper ones.

Wishing I could make it all

Last longer.

Enjoying being supine

And supple.

Loving being in my body,

In the moment,

In my glory and in my power.

And then I realized it was

Time to shower

And snap out of it all.

Realizing that soon I shall have to

Leave my cocoon

And join the world

Where you are not supposed to

Feel yourself breathe.

Where you wish time would go

Faster, not slower.

Where you cannot value your breath

As much as you are supposed

To value your clients.

We were not born

So that we could live

Like that.

My breath tastes so much sweeter,

My skin feels so much better

When I have nothing to lose.