The Balance

You come in

From the fire, smoky and

Smelling of the water that surrounds us.

I can see

Your hazel eyes

Squinting, fighting to stay open.

When you rise

Or when you rest,

My world is balanced on an edge.

I’m half a person,

Always wanting,

And you are my members, my lungs.

With every word

And you know how

To keep me severed or wrap me to you.

With fearful wings

Of bliss and strength

The youths have scattered, are gone.

Sometimes I feel

Like naked branches

Barren in my loneliness with nothing green.

I can see sanely

To the end

What is clouded and covered with pain.

It’s there I find

So much longing,

So much regret, so much regret.

So I’ll turn

And face you

And hope for kindness and feel for love.

My fingers

Shaking with the burden

Make each weight count, nimble like talons.