avoiding sudden movements,
keeping to the wall,
heel-toe, heel-toe

past sins ricochet
and I am powerless to make it slow

her legs, his hands
and a world of mountains
and melting glaciers to track

she was his flower
and I am a well-thumbed paperback

Unshielded
for a mere breath,
I stopped chasing wind
and listened
to the song of trees,
their wild roots
reaching below
and their branches
singing above.

Despite attempts at walking softly,
I was always to be a knight,
armor in place, inevitably.

While repeating steps,
it’s not the same
because I think I blinked
the first time
and missed your soft look
before the indifference
and I may have misunderstood
the glancing blow
that came after;
it’s possible
this is all as meaningless
as the sages said
and I’m imagining whole worlds
in our touch
that will never exist.

When the dark night is so quiet,
the air thrums
with impatience at finding a break
in the smooth, sightless landscape.

My blood rises in anticipation
of a new challenge
in the mist, no matter
if it has two legs or wings or voice.
I can make it mine
with just a few lines to hold me steady,
for there is harmony in the unknown
and I relish the anxious silence
that comes before melody’s rush.