Before you, I stand

with fear of the freedom

Apprehension of the reliance

Confidence of the love

Before you, I stand with complete faith

And though I am clothed, I am completely naked.

I pull my collar up against the chilling wind

The rain tries to sting me as I walk

Rotting leaves and rain dance in my nose

And a memory lodges itself in my head

It was a dark night, storming and cold

We were driving in the rain with the radio on

In a strange town the car decided to die

But we were able to park along the curb

The shops all glowed warm in the darkness

People hurried through the rain and cold

Instead of panicking we sat in the car

Smoking cigarettes and listening to Cat

After two tapes your dad arrived

The car was fixed and home we drove

Nothing else that night stands out

But the rain and cold, music and smoke

Rattle around in my head and often rise

So I walk along the crooked sidewalk

With those smells whirling through the air

We did not last, we were too young

Of the memories we made together

It is that night that stands out the most

It seizes my mind as I walk along

And with my head down against the weather

I again let it play out as it often does

When I encounter the same cold rain

And I raise my eyes to see where my feet led me

Your teenage home stands before me

Dilapidated and broken down

But memories scream from the cracks

And I wonder where you are

Separate, we each keep pages within the book of faces.

Alone, we abide in the crowded tome.

As desperate loneliness grabs at us,

we see pages appear in our paths.

Your words touch my soul and mine touch your heart,

so we search the caverns for each other.

Finally we find the authors we were pursuing.

We spill out our words and piece them back together,

until we decide together that it is time to leave the book.

As we exit, the ink on our pages fades,

and we put them away, their purpose fulfilled.

Hand in hand and heart in heart, we seize the world.

You are the peanut butter to my asparagus.

Finally, I found the one who held the rest of my heart,

the piece that I missed most desperately.

At last, you found the one who would fill your soul,

the hollow you wore was finally completed.

We are each other’s destiny; the world succumbs to our odyssey.

Mountains rose to block our path to the light,

but we knocked them down with our strength, together.

You share with me your knowledge, I share with you my strength.

Just as we were about to stride into forever,

the lemon set about its heinous attack.

Together we triumphed against the dreadful onslaught,

but the battles left me scarred and broken.

You did not give up on me, but you could have.

A lesser author would have written a new page.

With the lemon conquered and the pages still dormant,

we remain attached and complete in each other

and we bring the world to its knees before us.

Together. Forever. Plus a day.

Dark fantasies ride glistening moonbeams through my chamber window.

They dance their strange ballet on cobwebs in the flickering candlelight,

before they abide among the dusty tomes.

The tapestries strain to muffle the sound of my breathing,

and the frantic scratching of my quill across the dry parchment.

The moon slowly retreats behind thick clouds,

and the moonbeams are pierced by raindrops until they fade.

The raindrops do their melancholy waltz on the sill,

as lightning drives the dark from every corner of my chamber.

I smile as the thunder awakens something deep within my soul.

Somewhere outside my chamber door, a heavy chain drags the floor.