From Chandeliers, Hang Angels Without Their Wings

From grand and brightly lit chandeliers,

hang angels without their wings

Their celestial melodies drift ornately throughout the room –

it’s grand and enchanting…

I watch them – and listen to them –

wingless angels, confident

The fires of loneliness are not easily extinguished –

The flames dance wildly into the air, uninhibited -

I stare into the blaze and wonder if I’ll ever escape this inferno

- and he brings with him a garden hose and a water bucket

Like me, he involuntarily caresses the whisperings of sadness –

Not always – but sometimes

What do you do when a lion cries?

I know what I do – I know what I do

I hold him in my arms - and do nothing else –

and I do not let go – I do not let go

I am the on-duty lifeguard, and he is the ocean –

if he wishes it to be

Or - I am the ocean, and he is the on-duty lifeguard,

A life raft and floaties, as they are needed –

unashamed, unembarrassed… and sempiternal

He is amazing –

A chiseled chest – and he reads Baudelaire and Wilde –

Masculine and kind words escape his mouth -

And they are as lovely as he is –

my hand in his as we walk down the winding sidewalk –

lined with newly planted trees in this new neighborhood

He instinctively smiles at dogs as they pass us in the park –

- and I notice this -

we feed the ducks by the dock and talk openly about life

- he has tattoos (marks) and scars, as I do –

he has emotional injuries, as I do

I involuntarily hold my breath,

as I am in awe of the brilliance of Autumn –

I am the dead summer tree,

becoming alive as the season changes –

and the season is changing

I’m falling in love with him

He knocks on my apartment door, and I open it –

And he is there – standing before me –

he smiles…

and so do I

Photo: Jimmy Broccoli with Brahms. his Broccoli Buddy from Luxembourg.