Soon, it will be Warm Enough to Open Windows

bless the men with wounds so deep

they bleed from the spears in their sides,

driven in their ribs by their own hands,

carved from the voices, the ghosts, the darkness.

bless the women just the same.

---

bless mother nature as she shakes her snow globe –

furiously kissing everything she touches

with her shimmering flakes.

bless the hearts that ache for the sun

and age with each new fallen

blanket of white.

---

bless the sadness that falls like rain

down hills of fleshy cheeks,

and bless the hours upon hours

of uninterrupted television watching.

---

bless the foolish dances to the Fabulous Four

socks sliding across linoleum, kitchen floors.

bless the appreciation of the moment

of being.

---

bless the friends who show up

who create traditions, a way of saying –

“I’ll always show up.”

“I’ll always be here.”

“Come to me just as you are.”

and bless me for believing them,

that I am enough, just as I am.

bless my love for you

which knows no bounds.

---

bless the mind that wanders

to fantastical places –

the Himalayan Mountains

with the man who makes me love myself

when I am with him.

bless the man for it –

for who he is, as he is now.

bless the demons that burrow inside of him,

the ones he fights daily, refusing to stop.

bless him. bless him. bless him!

---

bless the characters created

and bless the escape into their love

and the journey of finding it.

the starting friendship,

shared laughter

and shared morning breakfasts.

late night conversations

the screen light reflecting in their glasses.

the want dripping between them

so hot

I can feel their flames.

---

bless the feelings of heat

of the ink that pours out of me –

waterfalls of passion

and want

and desire

and need

bleeding out like spread sheets

drenched in sweat

bodies entagled

as love and passion

escapes from my pen,

bleeds into their souls,

piercing mine.

---

bless the vice that eases

the woman’s aching stomach,

hips and back,

every twenty-eight

to thirty-one days.

bless the emotional roller coaster ride –

crying at St. Jude commercials.

laughing at the roadrunner

who outsmarts the coyote,

for the hundredth time.

---

bless Justin Long for his performances;

Zerk and Junior never fail

to make me laugh.

bless the laughter that pours out –

rainbows of giggles

and

thunderstorms of cackles.

---

bless the souls that refuse to stop feeling –

the pain, taking it and twisting it

time and time again

until it becomes easier to inhale,

becomes easier to exhale.

until the sting becomes a bite.

---

bless the heart that helps the soul to heal,

refusing to cause the same pain

that was inflicted.

hearts that free the wolf that lives inside

to feed it until it sleeps.

bless the balance, the yin, and the yang –

mountains of hope,

oceans of pain.

bless the growing, and learning

and knowing of self.

---

bless the herb that awakens

all that’s within –

the mind,

the tastebuds,

the sound waves,

the skin.

bless the mouths that speak out

for what is right

and not what is popular –

those with millions of eyes which follow

and those whom nobody knows.

---

bless the comforts of familiar old friends –

movies that carry us back in time,

songs that bring back images of moments

that squeeze our hearts,

and books that pour out the writers art

through our eyes.

bless everything under the sun

that helps mend the seams

when they start to come undone.

bless the acceptance of all that is now

and embracing what comes

as best we know how.