somewhere in the heights & depths

One false move

and the image shatters—

the one I made for you.

Bare and jagged,

my iniquities suddenly

strewn all over the floor—

Glass, silver, paint

all conspire

I didn’t notice it at first

An egret, standing at the water’s edge with me

It stood just a few yards away

under the blanket of night

I thought it might be there to fish

But it merely lingered there, surveying the dark waves

I wondered if it had the answers

to my questions

But as my sandy footsteps walked

away from him

Particle by particle

I come to you in the form of a story.

It reads:

“Do you want to play with me?”

Patterns on a wall

I watch from a distance

As they continue on and on

I wonder briefly

If they will change and morph

into something new.

I shouldn’t wish to see the lake

That secret one you told me about

When we first met

With the pocketknife you found

And the initials in the wood

I shouldn’t wait for an invitation

Under the canopy of trees

Where you bravely pioneered

The hidden thicket

As a boy with your dog

I shouldn’t feel a rush when you give one

Accepting blindly, I press myself

Through the portal of greenery

Soft light, cool air, and quiet

Just like you told me

I shouldn’t feel joy when your face lights up

Boy inside you awake and alive

When you show that secret refuge

Guarded close to your chest

To someone new

I shouldn’t kneel and look inside the pool

Mirrored and mystic as it is

It will reflect my duplicity

Or maybe I should—

Then this would all be over.

Lying in the sun

She stretches

Limbs cracking

Fascia settling

Quiet satisfaction.

Loose warmth spreads through veins

She stares out

At the ocean

Sunlight glints off the waves.

Distant mountains

Remind her

What’s to come

I am in the open ocean

Fog surrounds me on all sides

I have no idea which direction I should go.

But there are distant outlines

Shadows of people scattered

Around, grounding me.

I trust that the movement of the water

And the structure of my vessel

Will take me where I need to go.