Alexander

I think on you - my
beautiful man with
strong bones strong shoulders
and when I put my
arms round you and feel your
warmth your beating heart
my love opens to you like a
purple scented flower opening
beneath the moon and a
tranquil sky - no distant

you say, for you are right
here beside me (distance being
only relative to time) and you
warm my skin with your laugh
and your hands: your bright face
hovers near and I wish you here
as I think on you - my
beautiful man

across the border between
the night and the day, between
country and country, the
thin dawn chorus of diminishing
birds, the pale rose sandstone,
and, this morning, a hovering
fog.

I crossed the heart of the city
and breathed crystal air, my
breath frosted and
caught in my throat - I

merchant my days and throw
boxes around like a fishman:
the women stare awkwardly,
talk behind my back, think me
oddly energised -

some full foolish circle
brought me
back to their core and
our green potential:

the city of my birth alive
in sound, chariots, and
moving lights, spilling
out from my palms, here, now,
in the silence: my new candles

are old - and last night I sat
with two women as we
knitted the past together to try
and make the present fit:

preserving the effect
is all that's left
and safety held in hands
cupped to hold coin
but cannot: turning
metal into gold are
my days - I have chosen
walking ways again
moving from the tower
to touch ground: my soles
hurt and my guts ache
with grief the gnawing loss
that eats-in and causes chasm -

you put your arms around me
like a safety net; like a warm
blanket; like the outside world
can never come - you hold me
like a transfer of energy:
hope to go on -
strength to begin -

and I feel your strong bone your
strong shoulder and lie
locked to you like a key, in
the silence of our room, light
going - your skin is precious
satin - your eyes all the
diamonds I could want:

there are no more riches in
hands or days
than you to wake up to:
my beautiful man
the land I live on
the only joy I know.
Adam's Mirror
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