by the river

Last night when I couldn’t sleep,

I inhaled cool streams of air

and listened to them escape

through the cracks in my heart.

I lay there, beneath the stars,

breathing in the whole night sky

to feel loneliness

as it gathered around my waist

and climbed my spine,

the way we rise in love,

how when we are too tired to resist,

surrender becomes a portal

back to one another,

how when there are no words,

our bodies take over.

How by the river,

you whispered something

I couldn’t hear,

so leaned in to listen more closely,

watching the soft seed of your heart

blossom, your shining face upturned,

eyes glistening in the moonlight,

and felt seen.