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Crossing
Poetry By
Kelly Penz
I keep waiting
for the storm to finally hit ground.
You know, the
thunder to begin to pound?
There’s going
to be a crash.
There is going
to be electricity.
And I will be
right there next to you, unknown but perceived.
One, two,
three…magnetized, your scent captures me but leaves me in unease.
My patience
disintegrates.
And I tread on
razor thin ice.
The crackling
echoes around me.
The sky is gray
cold and the wind whips at my hair, teases my ears and freezes my
tears.
I trudge onward,
one foot in front of the other.
Careful you’ll
lose me.
Careful you’ll
bruise me.
The distance
grows longer with each step and then the animals’ howls begin.
What land is
this, where are we now?
Breathe with me
each breath a stabbing burn.
This is cold
soul.
This is ravaged
land.
Stillness hovers
as my steps have stopped.
I feel your
inhalation disperse the windy tendrils around my neck.
You are so close
my heartbeat quickens.
You are so close;
with my fingers I reach out, tentatively testing the space in
front.
Have we found
each other?
The howls become
distorted violins and broken stringed cellos.
Will we
waltz? Do we begin?
Slowly I bend to
my knees and lay my cheek to the cold.
I hear the rush
of water beneath and pray for the release.
The song is
beautiful and mournful.
Will you take me,
swathe me in your arms and carry me across this frozen sea?
Do you not
see me standing there, my arms reaching?
Everything is
wrong.
The notes begin
to lash my ears and the moment is gone.
I rise to my feet
and continue on.
Does the gray
engulf me?
Have I
disappeared?
You do not
see the path that lay behind.
You have left
tiny drops of desire with each passing step; your soul is bleeding
golden warmth onto this frigid terrain.
Take my hand, as
I know you always will.
I press your
fingers to my lips.
Gently, softly we
move forward and the wet waves lap at our heels.
Look! The ice has
turned to an ocean crashing behind us.
The sand is cold
and our feet are bare.
I will not look
at you for fear you will disappear, I only squeeze tighter and
feel for the rhythmic pulse beneath your skin.
My love has found
me.
Our hearts can
breathe again.
The wind still
whips, the atmosphere is alive with electricity as you whisper my
name.
Tell me what
to do? Where do we go from here?
I look up at the
sky.
Stars shooting.
Fire falling.
Are we in the
beginning?
I take the first
step.
Looking ahead I
see miles of sand and a lonely tree.
Enormous and
strong the branches reach for an eternity up and out.
In full bloom the
leaves rustle and dance; the wind carries the melodic serenade to
our ears, whispers calling us near.
We have arrived.
The tree is miles
wide and forever up but we begin to climb.
It’s sap sticks
to our hands and smells intoxicating.
Each branch lay
before us like steps and the leaves continue to call onward.
I hear your
excited breaths and feel my heart calming.
Golden light
trickles down and dances on my hands, the sap captures and
refracts it into a million dazzling pieces.
“Closer”
the leaves sigh.
The tree has
taken us into her arms and sings us anew.
She has missed
us, her children.
In her arms we
know we will fly again.
Kelly Penz,
contact
k.penz@yahoo.com
Copyright 2009
Kelly Penz
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