Choose your poison

He leans in invitingly

He welcomes me into the circle

“Whiskey on the rocks”

“Fill it up”

My heart it races

It knows

It is close

A deep breath

I hold the bar firmly hoping it grounds me

Sweat beads across my brow

I wipe my hands down my pants

Wet prints left upon the bar

The ice is sharp as it hits the glass

“Get this guy to hurry up!”

The Voice screams again

I hold my eyes fixed to one place

Hoping no one can see the fear upon my face

I catch a glance in the mirror

A fancy outfit

And smelling of French Cologne

I see the pulse within my neck

Jump like an angry Looney Tune

Scraping as loud as glass on glass

He slides my drink into my palm

Pause

One one thousand

Two one thousand

Three one thousand

……Just a sip…

I wait while he serves another patron

While his back is turned

Half gone…. put it down before your cover is blown

Didn’t spill a drop

Soon I’ll be the walking dead

Awake enough to come alive and calm enough to keep the demons inside

Courage is easy to find

On every corner

At every turn

It’s ok

It’s ok to say what must be said

Despite the eruptions

And the volcanic gases

Words are hard to find

And sometimes they hurry out like a bullet from a gun

Blood is usually shed

Invisible cords that tie

Are cut

They are attached elsewhere

We know what we want

We know what must be done

But it doesn’t stop blood shed

Or forest fires

Ashes will be left in the wake of it

But glorious things are born of them

Love holds no bounds

And if there be love

Then be ready my friend

Apocolypsies and regeneration and the pioneering of new lands

Growth always arises

And love always finds a way.

My skin gently tests the breeze

It is the perfect ambient temperature

I feel as if I could be one with it

I see myself in my minds eye

I am the breeze.

Floating over the back fence

Dreamily caressing the earth

Making a flower bob its head

It smiles at me

I smile back

Kissing its sunny bouncing face

I stretch my hands wide over the grass

Creating gentle rolling waves

Breathing in

I taste sweetness

Is this what the sun tastes like?

Dewy and light

Invigorating

Pure

Nature is under its spell

Everywhere, every creature

Takes in this moment

Intoxicated

Like a baby after feeding

All sit gently

Quietly soaking in the moment

No cold shocks

Or stressing heat

Perfection

All meditate on it

Knowing it is fleeting

I too work my way to the garden

Drawn to nature

And its hypnotic call

I lie myself into the grass

Embracing natures caress

You walk a line that nobody else does

You see what others cannot

Your perception and attraction to truth

Emboldens you

Ignoring fear

But feeling it none the less

Bravery and compassion in the moments that really count

As playful as a puppy

(I hope this never changes)

Embracing the ridiculous

You throw off inhibitions

And dance in the street

High on life and living in the moment

Intelligence and wit

Combined with vulnerability,

They smash together creating explosions of sensitivity and passion

Everything you apply is done fast and furious

Fuelling my passions

You are my muse

You calculate while I philosophy

You feel everything

And understand easily

You cannot be swayed easily

Yet you know when to humbly concede wrongs

The perfect mixture of pride and humility

Why do I love you?

How can a woman stand against you?

You smash my barriers

Despite my resistance

A crumbling sappy mess

You are the form of my dreams and the prescription from the universe

Eternally bound by a marriage of blood

Forced to spend a life time with persons who feel free to offer their opinions with out invitation

Unlimited

Normal bounds are crossed and left upon the stoop

Some become eternal friends and soulmates

Whilst others use military strategies to bomb and destroy

Mortal enemies

Attack and retreat

……………………… Attack and retreat

The ultimate competitor

And the cheapest of friends

The keeper of expectations

The betrayer of all secrets

The comforter and the abandoner

I shall call you Sister or Brother

I will protect you like no other

Faraway above the precipice

Sunlight sharpens the water

Blades and shards flash like sharpened steel

The sun and water are the great Illusionist with his Assistant

They collide together on stone and sand

Crashing together like a Giant smashing glass

I strain to hear it

Humming faint as my own heart beat

Gentle

Constant

Calling me

Like a smitten sailor to sirens and the vicious rocks

Gnashing at me with vicious teeth

I hold out my hand to it

I know the risk

I reach for it anyway

Desire to tame it

Out weighing the dangers

Let me tame you fierce monster from the depths

With all the rocks the wind the dangers and the risks

Let me lay my hand upon your head

Calm the fires from your belly

Be the dragon that stays itself

Be powerful and larger than life

Hold your strength with dignity and ferocity

People know not to stand against you

I look you in the eye

The gnashing ceases

The sirens song is silenced

Finally we stand as one

Equal

Eye to eye

The vibrations and hum

Filling our bodies

Now, I can caress your face

I hold it in my two hands

I kiss your cheek

Finally

Friends at last.