Surround us
with a crowd
of one hundred dancing strangers
ears ringing
from speakers announcing
that tonight
nothing matters
except
the way the corners of your eyes
curl upward towards the sun
when you smile,
and how
with the brush
of your hand against my waist
the rest of this place
could be nothing but particles.
In a multiverse
of alternate realities,
let this be the one.
You take all my flaws,
gather all my self-hatred,
and with your love
you welcome them home.
I never knew
there could be hope like this
where I will we’ll grow old together,
I never knew
there could be faith like this
that life blossoms whatever the weather,
I never knew
there could be desire like this
lust for command, I surrender,
I never knew
there could be joy like this
found in the effortless scent of your sweater.
All I need
is the sunshine
birds chirping
the flow of water
and something to love.
The tide continues its motion
lapping the broken shores in a peaceful sigh of relief
after holding its breath for so long.
You recall the beach by your childhood home
spending hours pondering what treasures lay
on other shores
how desperately you wanted to believe
in a world away from those bricks and walls
which built that house and then trapped you inside it.
You recall the beaches in foreign countries
you had the honour of gracing.
How you remembered that first beach
and realised you had made it.
You are still making it.
No matter where you are in the world
the water always finds its way to you.
It endures the earth’s currents
to reach the ground your feet are stood upon.
It’s about the long fight.
And if the ocean can find a way to touch you
and at every opportunity longs to dip your feet in its brilliance
you can get out of bed and exist today.
I think there is a part of me that doesn’t want to feel better.
But the rest of me is desperate to live.
And I don’t mean the breathing;
I mean the joy
the pain
the happy endings
the broken hearts
love and adventures and places and people
