do you remember
sleep we traded
for one more chance at love
a garden grew
in shadows of the barn
hearts for holding memory
promising our best –
would gather
every season
waited on

once before
i stood my ground
and put my maps away –
starlings black before the sun
could bake
dressed in purple flannel
i willed the stars collide
begging please
upon my knees –
another dream
to wake

longing keeps
no record –
of years betrayed
to moments here
curved against your spine –
a willing spoon
do you remember
how i worried
each time you tempted fate
trusting of our fortunes
to the moon

. . .