CXXXIII.

and you draw me in
and you say
with the voice of piano stilling

you know about the dawn
the saltwater canopy
the blinding morning
like lungs turned inside out
and left to warm on the sand

you know about the dream
glowing lights in the new york bay
glowing bright for a california child
glowing night as we crossed the horizon
an apartment and a blanket and a whisper

you know about the days
spinning skirt and bare feet in the palms
coffee blurring veins on davis street
caught with a question, with open eyes, transparent skull

you know about the lightning.
it's a storm, love.
like it thundered from yesterday balcony
like it tore through the tiderays
like it shattered the left of me.

and you say,
this is how.
this is me.
this is all.

this, here, forever.
now we can walk to new worlds.
ad astra per aspera.
now we fly.

these three remain: faith, hope, and love.
but the greatest of these is love.