Something Better

We don't share blood, but something better
I have no memories of my childhood that we don't share.
My brother's been my enemy, my ally and my best friend
and even in distance, he's always there.

Show me a man who is more giving.
Show me a man with more love to share.
My brother is a man who did more with less
and who conquered hardships beyond compare.

We don't share blood, but something better
a respect and a love that was earned.

And now my brother has given his heart to a girl
and my brother's love is returned.

I won't get to see the look in his eye
when the eyes of his bride find his own.
I'm on a journey of love myself,
and making my way back home.

But my brother is happy and deserves nothing less
than the joy in his heart and this girl in her dress,
her heart, their future and the joy in success

That they've created something better.

If love comes easy

If love comes easy
like the trickle of the stream
it's not for me

If love calls softly
like whispers on the breeze
it's not for me

give me the torrent
of a storm on the sea
give me the cries of  a love
fighting to be

then that love is for me

in a world so vast
where seasons
burn hot, grow cold, then turn mild
I want a love where my heart turns wild

untamed and free

I want a lover
who is perfect for me
who will bare his teeth in anger
and howl when he's moved by me

if love comes easy
then it's not for me
give me the cries of a love
fighting to be

I imagine your body
curves lines and hue
texture of skin
the feel of muscle, bone, sinew

my head resting on your chest
I feel your voice travel
from my core to my limbs

feel your energy move through my body
until it leaves mingled with my own

I smile as I imagine the imprint our love will leave
against the earths atmosphere

body lain dormant
waiting for you
I open my eyes waking
to the essence of you
sun salt and sea
waiting to be known by me

you coax gently
peeling me open
like a late blooming rose
closed against the harshness of the wild

Salty sea water mixed with blood
snow capped giant, glacier water flood

Pine tree roots growing out of his boots

misty rain and rocky shore
his name a necklace my heart wore

He's the road and home,
he settles me though still I roam

my heart wanders no more

The Lover's Tree

Let the moonlight rinse your cares away

let your mind empty but for thoughts of me

lay your head in the milky light

against the trunk of the lover's tree

The night lays heavy

broken only by the breeze

be at peace my love

for that breeze carries me

As the last leaves fall and the night turns cold

when the full moon rises and your heart unfolds

I'll appear in the night before you

and we won't ever be the same

Lay me down and kiss me true

love unfurling the way the old oak grew

carve our names for all to see

that we are bound by the lover's tree

A Mother's Song

The day's stretched long and bittersweet
lay down your head son, tuck in your feet
and I'll sing for you a mothers song

you came to me like thunder
a force carrying gifts of joy and wonder
I was timid before you came
but now I carry a mothers flame

it burns bright with love for you

when you sleep if your dreams turn cold
remember to be brave, be bold
your dreams are yours to shape and mold
and will show you the man you want to be

if you wake at night and I'm not near
rid yourself of doubt, cast out your fear
in the dark the shape of your soul becomes clear
and you'll know what you're capable of

Never hide your smile or forget to laugh
always love without holding back
be prepared for your heart to break
and never regret a choice you make

Live big and loud like the thunder you are
see all you can, travel far
find what makes you happy deep in your soul
and hold it tight don't let it go

 And always remember
I was timid before you came
but now I carry a mother's flame

and it burns bright with love for you

Sunshine

sunshine's hands woke me gently in the morning
his caresses starting at my toes and snaking up my thighs
my arms and chest
until I feel his lips warm upon my cheek
i wake and share my sleepy smile,
a song already on my lips
and I curl into him
singing, but only in my head.

pulling back my blankets, I leave sunshine in my bed
and stretch in salutation to my day.
beyond my door, little paws pad across the wood floors,
and I smell coffee and bacon.
Going stealth, I slip into the kitchen, grab my favorite checkered mug
and snag the very last cup of coffee
slinking off without making more.
I was never there.

Slunk against the doorway, perched on the very top step
with bare feet and bedroom hair,
I slurp my coffee in a way that would drive my mother nuts.
Like a child devouring their first cup ever of hot cocoa.
licking my lips and wiping it from my chin.
And sunshine laughs and laughs at the sight of me.

my fingers itch with a purpose, and can't wait to get away from me.
I know it's time to write.
so I light a smoke, and savor the feeling
like the adrenaline coursing through my limbs
before taking a running leap.


and sunshine smiles down on me.

Where I need to be

they call it a small town
though it's secrets seem never ending, unfolding before me
discovering family and friends and stories
of a time long before there was me

I've claimed a few corners,
memorizing the route like a young girl who's to meet her lover secretly
and sometimes I slink off to find a moment or three
that belong just to me

and none of it's like I pictured really
though none of it is daunting, or unsavory.
It just takes a while to reconcile
what this place really is and what I want it to be

the compromise is pleasing to me.
I know I'm right where I need to be.

Everything's Alright

red Texas dirt caked to my shin mixed with coconut oil and sweat
my cheeks and one shoulder turned pink by a sun I'd only just become reacquainted with.
and among the freshly mowed weeds scattered sparsely within the confines of a chain link fence
runs a little boy, now not so little, who's freckles flash like a million sparks across his button nose
squeals and laughter and creaks from an old metal swing

a rowdy older brother
telling stories with his hands and laughing over flames and smoke caressed meat.
I'm reminded why I've always looked up to him even when I started towering over him
a new hipster sister, cute, short, giggly. Sarcastic and always on the move.
I love her already.

a brand new room and brand new bed to tuck my too grown baby into at the end of every day.
we read Shel Silverstein poems and I sing all of our old songs, then he makes up new ones.
Usually about love and he makes a fist and closes his eyes while I try not to giggle aloud.

then I lay my own head on my own bed and drift into dreams filled with images from the books I've recently devoured.

And everything is alright.

Sunday Morning Creeping in

dawn creeps in, stealing slumber from beneath me
leaves me disoriented, warmed but still so cold with yearning
reluctant to give up the ghost of you

Sunday creeps in, stealing Saturday evening from me
where all is quiet and
my fingers grip my glass of wine
and my thighs grip my favorite blanket close to me
where my mind is free to wander to Saturday nights
where memories were made by you and me.

and I don't disfavor you Sunday
I just wish you were delayed
wish Saturday had stayed
long enough for another memory to be made

He's engraved in my heart
beautifully etched, and horribly scarred.

Maybe Sunday's more my style
soft and easy and might stay for a while
Maybe Sunday can return my smile.