I have bartered
with the darkness –
wrapped myself in light
courting with shadows
– rolled beyond the hands
of night

I have loved
when there was nothing
worth surrender
to confess –
finding strength
to face another
calm to ease
my soul’s unrest

found a means
for moving onward
in search of destiny –
I have loved
and hesitated
for a truth
I couldn’t see

without remorse
for having wanted –
I was never far from home
I have waded
in the waters
cold and dark –
a lover’s stone

. . .