I.
I dream of you walking at night along the streams
of the country of my birth, warm blooms and the nightsongs
of birds opening around you as you walk.
You are holding in your body the dark seed of my sleep.
II.
This comes after silence. Was it something I said
......
If I were a cinnamon peeler
I would ride your bed
And leave the yellow bark dust
On your pillow.
Your breasts and shoulders would reek
You could never walk through markets
without the profession of my fingers
floating over you. The blind would
stumble certain of whom they approached
......
We believe in Marxfreudanddarwin.
We believe everything is OK
as long as you don't hurt anyone,
to the best of your definition of hurt,
and to the best of your knowledge.
We believe in sex before during
and after marriage.
We believe in the therapy of sin.
We believe that adultery is fun.
......
I'll tell you something: every day
people are dying. And that's just the beginning.
Every day, in funeral homes, new widows are born,
new orphans. They sit with their hands folded,
trying to decide about this new life.
Then they're in the cemetery, some of them
for the first time. They're frightened of crying,
sometimes of not crying. Someone leans over,
tells them what to do next, which might mean
......
Out of the church she followed them
With a lofty step and mien:
His bride was like a village maid,
Maude Clare was like a queen.
“Son Thomas, ” his lady mother said,
With smiles, almost with tears:
“May Nell and you but live as true
As we have done for years;
......
This is your hand
And this is my hand
Two faces in the ancient sand
This is your heart
And this is my heart
An Aesthetic view of a piece of art
This is your hair
And this is my hair
Open windows in the calming air
This is your shirt
......
Let me kiss away the tears
As you fall asleep
It has been a hard day
And we deserve a moment's peace
With the pressure of yr job
And me, with the kids
We are about to explode
I know the travelling is getting to you
And the kids are wondering
If we are getting a divorce
......
I built my house of wood and stone.
I built my house with sinew and bone.
I built it strong to withstand war,
but I put a welcome mat at my door.
I built it here near the sea,
so we could watch the ships sailing so free.
And I built it with windows wide
to better understand the world outside.
The fireplace I built of solid stone
to keep us warm nights while we share a poem.
......
Once solitary, now in twain,
A path uncharted, a heart's new domain.
From single hues to wedded blend,
A mystery man's tale, let it ascend.
Accustomed to solitude's gentle sway,
The single life, the favored array.
Yet fate's tender touch, a love's sweet call,
A journey begun, shadows to install.
......
These come from my many insecurities about who I am.
These have to do with whether I currently make a good husband and if I will make a good father in the future of our marriage.
An image persists in my head that I will not be able to meet the responsibilities of having a family.
Of having you and a child to think about.
I am naturally an anxious person and I have known myself to be a person who has had difficulty making large transitions.
But I can hear your voice saying to me as it always does when I find myself unsettled.
" You are a good husband and you will also make a fun loving father for our child when it's that time. You have a childs likeness to you. You can make all those character voices like Kermit, our child will have so much fun with you".