Life in Consonants & Vowels

The Novel

I found some letters this morning, so I strung them together on a piece of string

So you could see what I mean when I say all the things that pool on my tongue

The string starts at my heart and ends at yours, connecting and binding

If we walk this way and that, very gently, we won’t be torn, we won’t bleed

I found my words this afternoon, so I wrapped them up in a piece of silk

So you would feel how I feel when the earth goes gray and my eyes fill with you

The silk billows around us like a sailor’s map, charting our course, our steps

If we dance slowly to our spoken music, we’ll find our way, we’ll rest our heads

I found your poem this evening, so I lifted the lines and arranged a bouquet

So you could inhale the fragrance of what two people can be when they remain

The handwritten flowers perfumed our hair and softened the prints of our fingers

If we breathe each touch like an unplanned journey, we’ll smile because we know

I found our book tonight, covered in moonlight and memories, pressed open

So we could read without effort, running our fingertips down the pages

The chapters we’ve lived fill our mouths, our hands holding our bones together

If we are careful to keep all that there is, the treasure will be found by the rest