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 concrete, cars and 
moving lights spills 
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 bedroom, 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.

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