Snapshot of Love #7

It is usually from afar
That I pen these laments
These quixotic prayers
My first thought when I saw you
Never
Never would I have a chance to speak to you
Never would you humor me for even a minute
And that was just fine
It was the world I was accustomed to

That is why I sit here
Thinking of you
And what I would give
To know
You have these daydreams too

But It's a Dry Heat...

This time of year

the desert blisters the unwary.

 

I watch people crawl into their shells

slither backward into dark basements 

the cool crevices of their protective havens

and wait for September, resigned.  

Spending summer months 

behind concrete walls and central air

is like self-imposed house arrest.

Like cabin fever in reverse

Minnesota in negative twenty degrees

except 

when in the desert, you step outside

and feel EVERYTHING...

Every.  Thing.

Every molecule of arid sun

every wavering doubt 

every shimmering illusion of grandeur

bleaches you, inside out.

There are only so many

clothes to take off

until you are stripped bare and left

over the fiery coal-bed of melting pavement.

There is no wind chill to numb

your insecurities away.

And so, the withdrawal

the cautious retreat

to the shadows, the hidden familiar.

I don't want to exist in an emotionless desert.

I don't want to slip back

into the mind's dark basement

and forget the warmth of

the human condition.

I don't want to construct walls--

psychological or otherwise--

or succumb to the fear of heat stroke. 

I will step out

wear sunscreen

breathe deep in the dry heat

and embrace the day.   

Ignore The Snow

Her legs were balanced on my thigh as she typed away at her laptop
I was far enough away that I could sneak glances into her eyes
She never noticed
I did not really know her three weeks ago
Hell, I did not really know her now
For some reason, she was just pleased to grace my presence
She seemed satisfied to just ride the wave
We were skating on thin ice, realizing it all the while

Summer has a funny way of making one needy
We need to be outside in the sun
We need to be enjoying beers and tea with friends
We need to smell the charcoal
Taste the burgers and veggie brats
Feel the grass between our toes

The last thing I wanted to need that summer was love
I felt like I had earned a free ride
I had suffered through distances that soldiers could not traverse
I had panhandled on the telephone wires
Under the cell phone towers

And yet, I still wanted it
I still wanted her
I wanted to share in all of the quick heartbeats
The shallow breaths
The sweaty hands
The silly looks

Summer
How we need thee
Even when we do not want it.