Inspiration

I think I’ll take a moment

To rest on your bed of thoughts

nap inside a painting of your cloudless dreams

 opening my eyes like small basement windows

that don’t often get much light

I think I’ll take some time

To play your song

 Harmony hushing my lips

 and tickling my ears

like a whisper silence waited for

I think I’ll take a second’s chance

To watch you dance partner-less

 around a symphony of new ideas

maybe your rhythm will teach a step

my soul can learn to do

I think I’ll take a day

and abandon myself

To be with you, instead

The Sun Sleeps on the Mountain

(For my 5 year old niece Shaniya, who asked me if the sun sleeps on the mountain)

To feel as young,

As summer in June

And as rested as

The sun that sleeps

On a bed of leaves

Beneath a mountain’s tallest tree

Long lashes, and expressive eyes
hint an age far greater
and thoughts far brighter
than her August candles' glow
even the bottom of the massive ocean
couldn't compare to the depth of the poetry in her soul

Before she had teeth

To peek through her effervescent smile
I could hear the questions
I'd never think to know

If love had an alias,

it would use her name in moments like these

She rushes for an embrace

And I see joy reveal itself

through her open arms
As she shares her spirit through her laughter
all my despondency in that instant, is removed
and replaced with immortal hope

With each visit
her heart teaches me
the lessons life hides
like eggs in Easter grass
and each day that knows her
is a little more brilliant for it.