sweet pearls
those grains of dew
molded on your lips— your bottom lip
a story for some other ear
on some other day

and cuts of wood with such warm tones
like a beautiful head of hair
waving, tousled
incandescent patchouli
lavender and ice

it's a story she told me when I was a boy
I was a pair of overall jeans
and a day was forever
and she was a queen

I was a guy with socks on his hands
and you were a girl once
so where did our moment go,
and with whom?
I can't recall
or even see
beyond what's just in front of me

and while I watched the lightnings dance
and test the margins of the sky
while the earth was beaten with sopping hail
from gusty winds
and breathless lips
I couldn't say I knew the difference

when I was anyone
and you were everything
a moment balanced on its edge
a lifetime
a feint
or whatever you call it anyway

that time we ceased forevermore
seems like it was yesterday