We were entwined in red rings Of blood and loneliness before The first snows fell Before muddy rivers seeded clouds Above a virgin forest, and

Beloved, In what other lives or lands Have I known your lips Your Hands Your Laughter brave

The sun has come. The mist has gone. We see in the distance... our long way home. I was always yours to have.

Funky blues Keen toed shoes High water pants Saddy night dance Red soda water

Tears The crystal rags Viscous tatters Of a worn-through soul Moans

When I was young, I used to Watch behind the curtains As men walked up and down the stre… Young men sharp as mustard. See them. Men are always

One innocent spring your voice meant to me less than tires turning on a distant street. Your name, perhaps spoken,

We, unaccustomed to courage exiles from delight live coiled in shells of lonelines… until love leaves its high holy te… and comes into our sight

I’ve got the children to tend The clothes to mend The floor to mop The food to shop Then the chicken to fry

Beloveds, now we know that we know… Without notice, our dear love can… In the instant that Michael is go… Though we are many, each of us is… Only when we confess our confusion…

You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I’ll rise. Does my sassiness upset you?

FOR DAVID P—B The eye follows, the land Slips upward, creases down, forms The gentle buttocks of a young Giant. In the nestle,

When you come to me, unbidden, Beckoning me To long-ago rooms, Where memories lie. Offering me, as to a child, an att…