THE BRILLIANT FUNCTION OF LOVE

Ignites a sacred bonfire

between my weary legs.

I dream while awake

riding the crest of a wave

of endorphins released.

I hold you in my arms all night

even when my arm’s asleep.

I’m a lynchpin in an unhinged world,

keeping us safe from gunshots far away.

I’m at home in invisible air

like fish in a turbulent sea.

I drink like a thirsty dog

and eat as if it’s my last meal.

Our marriage works so well

because there’s music in the air.

I will no longer walk alone,

sleep alone, eat alone,

and will not die alone.

With fresh eyes, moments last.

I can see the unseen, everything

is interesting.

With a muse in my pocket,

I listen to Maria Callas’s trill

under the stars. The world

stands still.

The dead come back to life

when I close the door to my tomb.

I catch a trout and throw it back.

I dance to the elixir vitae

and will not squander my life.

Without you, I am nothing,

with you, I am everything.

I’m good enough to eat,

roots grow out of my feet,

mussels under my heels,

snails between my toes,

and oregano in my bones.

Immune to all disease,

I weep tears of joy.

At ease in my Shaker chair,

I hold a leaf, a granite stone,

shift sand between my hands,

and move into a world of silence

until God lets me in.