after the fire

sitting in the ashes
of not that long ago
and I'm startled that she burned it all down
not a moment not a word not anything left
of that connection

my face and my hands black from the debris
from sifting through
that gorgeous first kiss and watching her walk back inside
the butterflies in my belly and the swirling in my skull
the dance of our hands
how she turned the lights back on to study my skin
how she saw me

she returned it all to my doorstep
soot smeared across on my face
and I sweep up the charred pieces
tears clear a path
towards some sort of new start

just as I am

once upon a time

my space was small and cramped

recordings of too much   too big    too loud

drowning out my voice 

i am growing past those limits

and into joy and hope 

right to the verge of gorgeous

some days the echoes of that old

bounce off this still new place

distorted and jumbled into not enough and not quite right

and the trick is rising past it

in letting the sound just dissipate and fade

in overshadowing it with the glory of my crazy ideas and laughter

my path towards practicing plenty and perfect 

just as i am

misaligned

her hands on mine   on my leg

and the softness of the valley of her elbow

and her lips and her eyes and we fit together in a way that feels easy 

amazing 

electric 

gentle 

and she sees me in a way that is new and scary and great 

and pushes me past my history   my less than   my not enough

she is in my heart 

and with each vulnerable moment my heart is more raw  more exposed 

and my life spins around me 

and i react from the shadows of my past 

and she reacts to my reaction 

its hard and disorienting and doesnt make sense

she is struggling and sad 

and we cross past each other in this jumble

and I am hurting her 

my broken pieces and my sharp edges are cutting her

and i dont understand

how i feel so loved and so much love for her 

and still can't figure out how to grind down my jagged parts 

to create the opening she longs for

and I can't find her hand in this confusion 

or the words to reassure her and explain 

my heart aches

my words fall flat and i awkwardly stumble

and then fall deeper into my own sadness