Two cubes touch,
ten faces at the world;
for two of them
gaze toward each other
When it began
November 2021
The weather was cold and damp, but the air was warm, sweet, and electric. The night shaded the city to monochrome sodium hue, filling the voids with the sounds of the river lapping, the pulse racing.
Time stopped, the moment poised on the verge of promise. The world continued outside, the city striving to ignore, move around, make room for the small space that was the universe of the pair.
The hard flagstone underfoot was insubstantial - the gravity of the moment, of the glance, of her pulled at him, like a hunger of all the senses. The glance was perpetual, brief and never-ending, casting ahead into the infinite.
The light attached itself to her, bringing her aura into the visible. She moved through space, without taking a step; the way she moved moving him in turn. Over the yards between them, she touched him, was close.
Stay. The unspoken. With the unspeaking, the power of the spell broke, snapped not away, but marshalling the future into the now.
The night once more asserted itself, time moved her away, but promised to return her. The long moment began to pass.
When it really began
April 2021
A thoughT, a joke,
A smile,
A twItch of the lip,
The smAllest tug of a Muscle, the stronger tug on the heart.
Distance brings clOseness,
Absent touch brings longing,
And in The longing
Something quickEns, and slows.
The fuSe now is lit,
A spark in the night Of the soul.
The conflagRation erupts and surprises itself with its brilliance
Who knows tO what end.
A thought, a joke,
A smile,
The universe amuses itself,
For this is where it began.
Rough as oak, soft as leather
May 2022
Callow wind rustled the leaves of the lone tree in the field. It had seen the ages pass, it would see forever.
The warmth inside was not from the fire, nor the water, but from another elemental force. Rare, and precious, it suffused them, soothed them.
The scent was wood, and her, and leather, and her, and the petrichoric renewal. And her.
One of them brought strength, and grace, and kindness. One of them was bound. Through the night, they bound together.
By night, the sounds were one continuous breath, hours in a moment, a stop in time.
By day, the long trail merged their souls, mending like a rip in cloth; the world of the two of them showered them clean, their own renewal in the rain.
As they journeyed together, she saw the King, and he saw a Princess.
Hey
September 2022
Under canvas, cosi, a dome of pleasure and peace. The night is cold, but the forest is alive with sound and the sky full of inky, twinkly magnificence.
You are the sky, full of magnificence, replete with gold and gems, yet that day it was I rich beyond measure.
You are the books we read, small parcels containing multitudes within their worlds.
In a shard of time, I see you now as you were, at repose. Regal, and sensual, and strong and aflame from within. A continuous state of being.
Of all my images taken of you, this one is my favourite. I stole the moment, while you were present but elsewhere. And in the taking the moment became mine alone.
It cannot be taken from me, it will be cared for and cherished, and your glow will light my furthest days, however far from you I travel.
Later, as water falls, in the silent grove, we part again, for a time.
I hold you in my gaze, and watch as the world rotates upon your axis - light coruscates and settles about you. You are the centre.
I, like the light, am captive and captivated.
Away
October 2022
I crossed a world to reach you. My world was small, and I was scared.
Mi mancavi - from me, you were missing.
You appeared with and like the sun, rising in the new city of a new life. A life that could be, suddenly bright and warm.
The world woke; your hand in mine, we explored together. In corners, at tables, near water - feelings aflow like words on the page, tumbling off the edge as we roll them into each other.
Tra molta gente, we were alone together. Neither the idle chatter of the crowds, nor protestations of drivers, nor the ghosts of history disturbed our reverie; we passed through them all, moving through space reserved just for us.
The light gathered itself, languidly retreated to violet, the water flowed on, time flowed less. We stalked through the night, non capisco un’acca di vino, but you were there; through your eyes, and in them, I saw this world become my own in the night of the new old city.
The old day grew new again, and we came together, entwined.
Fairy Lakes
July 2023
Posts lean gamely in a field, a ragtag boundary of our perfect quiet space
Reaching new height, a mountain overcome together
In the wide open, like your eyes were then and like mine now
Not wind, nor rain, nor trail, nor travail can stop our ascent together
Closing, cajoling, coercing, you entreat me to climb higher, lifting me with your heart
I see where my skin bore witness to the thorns, and I treasure the comfort its discomfort brings
Peace at the end, a soothing calm in our den, where we curl like cubs in their tails
Enter the golden hour, a golden hue radiated upon you, by you; by your fire
Sun sets, I swing, smoke rises
Such calm is upon me, I remember fondly a future life of peace, and quiet, and adventure, and you
In a world made small and of simple things, I am the richest king of the broadest domain
Night draws close, and I draw you close, the fire bringing us near and together like a magic trick
All too soon, the time fades; but my skin remembers, my heart remembers forever
A wagon amongst the trees
April 2024
The rain came, sparkling through the dappled sunlight like memories illuminating the peaks of a life spent happy.
In freeze frame, a moment in time, the fast water was made languid, serving only to raise the temperature of skin.
His skin. Hers was behind him, inside. Inside his mind, his thoughts, his soul. A hastily-cooked meal spread in a corner, simple but eaten together as if a banquet of hearts.
She slept, in a simple bed from a bygone time, and in the stillness he could feel her move, with eyes unseen. Tired from their exertions, from the cool wind that blew upon these wuthering heights. He traced her body in the air, wood smoke parting to accomodate her projection.
The rain promised more, and he felt the promise of the world with all of his being. That night the storm would crash upon the canvas, and it would flutter like his heart. The wind would beg at the door, seeking entrance, but there would room enough only for two, coupled tightly in a cocoon of peace, safety, and protection.
As the droplets stood still, and the iridescence coloured the facets of his soul, she stirred.
She stirred within him, and he went inside.
The rain fell, but the sun shone.
Ferry
August 2024
A border crossed,
A manor breached,
Warmth and closeness keeps
The fog at bay.
Her eyes are wide,
Bared against the wind they stare,
The light pierces the mhor,
‘Lo, the monde aglow.
Hot, nourishing mugs,
Cold, rain beats the land,
Separated, insulated, comforted,
Cards on the table.
With skittish touch,
Eyes meet and linger,
The game not yet won,
But the climax in sight.
The water stills now,
The wind holds breath,
The day persists,
The night awaits.
The dawn breaks,
With the call of the open road,
Her boots upon the grey
With blue above her, and not within.
The hills sigh contentment,
The sun burns like love,
The fresh mountain streams caress rocks loudly,
The path welcomes the journey.
In the stars
Forever
Time merges into one. I see the first time I saw you. Unknowing, supine, volpine on a chair.
I see the last time you walked away from me. They exist in the same moment, a single heartbeat containing multitudes.
We hold hands by the river, on a bench. We duck behind heather in the hills. We play cards in the rain. We drink in loud silence. We sail and dance, rhythm and sway. We entagle to keep the night at bay, and revel in the space it closes between us.
We walk, we splash, we sleep. Oh, the strident rivers I have seen through your eyes. Perhaps one day we will fly.
You come to me, I come to you, astride great metal chariots thundering to close the distance. I am nervous every time, but you tread softly.
And then your smile heartens me, makes the ephermal physical, moves me.
You have brought me closer to the sky than I have ever been before - for you are my sky.
Mi hai trovato, perché ero perduto
My life is divided into with, and without. Absence and presence. Existing and living.
Flags and language, cooking and gifts, moments and years. I treasure them all.
Life in staccato moments; pieces of time with no edges.
It is 4.27am. The wind has stilled, and I know the rain will come. For now, I can see into eternity.
