Dancing without you

Dancing without

You but with

Rhythm and

Movement

Gentled

In the depths

Of my soul

Buzzing in every

Rising cell

I will give love

As a gift

Expecting nothing

In return

I will love love

Even when

It hurts me

And I will dance

As if my soul

Was on fire

And then I will dance

In it's ashes

I will be hurt only

When it needs me

And I will love

As if it were a dance

A Poem for Fall

Holding you

Laughing into

Your hair

You laughing

Into my neck

My tender dance

And falling spinning

Life can be

So sucking lifting

Hard and cold

Hard to sleep and

Hard to hold

I'm spent of you

And balanced

I'm looking out

Looking back

And thinking of

Your laugh

Tender tinder

In my neck

It's raining

It's raining

And windy

And I wake up

Full of the

Pointless energy

Of change

Thinking of

The far away

Wishing I could

Do something

Anything

To take myself

Further from

Who I am

Right now

Wanting to

Run and jump

Melt in the

Nostalgia of crying

Into the ocean

Play with a dog

Spin and swoop

And I wonder

What you are doing

Right now

Making coffee

Tree pose

Feeling kind

Looking for clover

Turning and speaking

To someone

Asking a question

I feel pointless

And happy and sad

And you are

So very far away

And no closer

Than you were

Years ago

But you are still

You and that

Is all that matters

To me

Poem for an Imaginary Person

I feel so lucky
Today alone
But full of love
I dreamed
About you
Last night
I dreamed
About sleeping
With you
My arm draped
Over you
And you
Holding onto it
Cradling my arm
Like a baby
Protecting it
Pressing your face
Against my fingers
To breathe
Me in
To smile in
Your sleep
And I was
Overwhelmed
With a feeling
Of kindness
And completeness
And I woke
Up feeling lucky
To have this
Feeling
Alone but full
And you
Somewhere
Out there
Breathing
Beautiful

Goodnight

The night flows with birds
This ragged moon
Seeks stars
With desperate
Certainty a mother
Seeking her lost
Children but
Wracked by wind
Whipped clouds
In Minneapolis sky
A tree dreams
Slow cold tree dreams
Patient and groggy
And I
Stand in the snow
Drunken snow
Coveted
Yelling poems
At my neighbors
Sleepy houses

Not dumb enough

I'm not chicken
I'm full of
Tremendous
Smiling with
Each and every
Loss
Alienated
Delineated
I lose everything
Constantly
And I'll lose
It again
Till I win
Because love
Is like that
And I'll only
Ever truly love
One person
Her smell
Her laugh
And sure I'm
Dumb as a mountain
Of hammers
But someday
I won't be
And maybe in
The next life
I'll be happier
Than this one
If we get another one
But I'm not dumb
Enough to believe
That sadly

I Feel Electricity

I feel electricity
Sometimes
My car door opens
Hiii
And I smell a smell
And torn from me
And hey how are you
All right
I feel alive sometimes
And laughing
Sipping beer
Or sake
And a twisted smile
Two twisted smiles
And shaking
Fingers
And calmness
And the taste
Of cigarettes
I didn't smoke
And tenderness
Engulf my soul