Twenty One Years
(In celebration of the 21st Anniversary of our union)
You are rhythm
to my days, music read
and memorized, notes
improvised on breaths of our love,
tempo that moves me higher
and higher.
Heartbeat that compels me
to give thanks for the gift.
You, exhaling life and love gifts
In every breath. in every morning
glory, no mourning, amazing, I be grazing
like gentle lamb lead by God
to your beauty.
Grown deep like river sculpted
Canyon, Grand layers luminous under
arid sun, my place of vision quests,
always leading to you, my always
love. So deep:
we fuss we wrestle with
human stuff. We strain we strive
we press to bless we caress
cocoa skin and soul so deeply.
We disappoint we edify we redeem
time and each other we forgive,
we live,
so deeply.
We laugh and frown and weep
in life circle grief and strained belief,
we release we
seek God
and peace we cook and grill
and eat
and dine our love in fires we refine
and rewind.
Our love is real life,
as real as God and rain and pain
and joy of shared omelets and coffee
and sunsets and flaming skies
inflaming souls together,
so deep, more real
than death in every breath.
We conspire
to till and tend our garden:
branches leaves stems
stretching seeking sun rising,
sky bound over canyon rim,
life flowers swelling into fruit
nurtured by spirit river deeply in valley
gentle waves rolling
winding flowing up Canyon into space
for sons and blessed generations:
The rhythms and rhymes
of days and times
grace and gifts of the Divine,
for us.
Always, always
for us.