Late Night Waiting

---

You a flash of light upon the velvet darkness;
A tinkling bell against the never ending silence.

You the fiery loss of childhoods unfilled dreams;
The summer rain which feeds the lush and grassy fields of new ideas.

You the timeless tidal force upon the sea of my existence;
A promise not yet made but now fulfilled.

You the flood-tide of images and ideas that wash in
From the shores of ancient nebula’s of unimagined beauty.

You the aching jazz-song floating through the night;
disappearing the moment it is heard.

You the music flowing from the ever empty space that marks
the boundaries of joy and sadness within the mystery of my soul.

~~~~

Aboard a boat with strakes of hope
And oars of dreams
I sail upon a chartless sea
To find those precious diamonds
Sparkling, burning, once seen strewn
Across the velvet backdrop of my life.

My sails are torn away, the rudder lost,
I call and reach for you.
Thoughts of loss, of singularity
the panic rises uncontrolled:
With each grasp and desperate croak
I see those glowing fragments
slip and drift and dim from view.

Alone, becalmed
The weight of time, of joy,
Of disappointment and discovery
Pour upon me.
As red-hot magma
Flows into an icy sea
Understanding
Hardens into Knowing:
Acceptance flashes white-bright all around.
I close my eyes to gain control
And in this windless inner space
A cooling calm;
The peace of strength descends upon me.

In distant marshes
Draped in fog-damp early morning mists
I know the wild things are out there
Running free.
And knowing is enough.

I’ve known of love and passion;
I’ve known your face and name,
I’ve known the softest curves
Of your sweet body.
But none of that is here and with me now:
Can the knowing be enough?
Can the memory,
The shards of days and images,
The diamonds on the velvet
Ever be enough?
Can there ever be enough
To keep me till
That warm and sunny day
When you,
The love and life will all return?