We keep turning up
Speaking out
Toning down
Turning round
Taking in
Pulling through
Carrying on
Easing to
Holding over
Standing under
Side by side
Nowhere else
But here
That really matters

We keep turning up
Speaking out
Toning down
Turning round
Taking in
Pulling through
Carrying on
Easing to
Holding over
Standing under
Side by side
Nowhere else
But here
That really matters

Shedding skin
Reluctantly
Knowing it will never
Fit me again
Revealing tender
Glistening within
Looking at a part of me
Not discarded
Treasured outlived
My happy place
My mind returns
When it protected me
From falls from grace

Tending to
Small hands
Hair flicking wide
Glinting eyes
Blinking love
Up to me
Head hovering
Under door frame
Burly gentle voice
Giant young hand
Filling holes
In roles of family
Tending always
My secret garden
Inside
Giant limbs and roots
Of memories
To swing on
In the dark hours
Back and forth
Soothing
Tender to
End of work
Ache between
My bones
Echoes of words
From a whole world
Of intimate meetings
Human voice evokes
Cure for hurt
Tending all
Cut stems
New roots
Shoots and leaves
Evergreen
Expanding
Untouched by
Frost or heat
Enclosed glasshouse
Weighted by reality
Preserved by families
Tenderqueer
Sharing spectrum
Kaleidescope
Of fondness
Love me tender
Sensitive receive
Touch of air
Words breathing
Responds anything
Unflinching
Appealing
Secret smiles
Unspoken words
Tenderly recalling
Time together
Fleeting

My heart sings out
Every morning
Trying on
Different melody
Not to drown out
In synchrony
With droning
Whirring life
All around me
Unknown songs
Respond saying
Who is it
You are calling?
Waiting for like echo
Chamber music
Of a heart

Roots and leaves
Grounding
Reaching above
Two affections
Opposing directions
One hidden one seen
A vast intricate network
Tapping into streams
When cold and dark
Storm rips apart
She holds me gently
Tough enough
Never letting go
Of what sustains us
Long limbs climb
Dance in the air
Entwine
Soak rays absorb rain
Glorious colour
Flower fruits
Enough to feed
Seven monkeys
Birds butterflies bees
Long life of love
Rooted deeply
Flying free
Love is looking up
Telling us always
Who to and where to go
Telling feet to point
In right direction
Or else stumble aside
It's the glorious view
From below that inspires
To keep going
Taking everyone with you
If eyes are glued
- Try it some time -
Wherever you look
Others look there too
So grateful to spy
A beautiful soul
Chin up to pinnacle
To show me how too
The last time I ever
Saw her face next to mine
My chilled fingers wiped
Warm tears from her eyes
Shed for another lost
Lover long ago
Sometimes it's shared losses
That waters new growth
If time lasts forever
We'd live in that moment
Rather than swimming
In thoughts of our own
Giving voice to our stories
Of long lost loved dears
On the seat right beside
Their bodies appear
While two are a couple
Absorbed in own world
A gaggle of lovers
Surround sound divide
So keep them in storage
Where they safely belong
Saved up for those moments
When long dates are done
Shape shifting countenance
Colours refracted over time
Telling me all I wish to hear
And yet only one line
Stands out from others
Unsolicited
Happy Solstice
How a mountain is revered
Upon holding a stone
Between my fingers
How tunnel vision
Peering through confetti
Glitter tattooed
Like spots appearing
After staring at the sun
When the view in front
Is clear and cool
As the wintry sky
Queue a mile long
Take a number
Squeeze in front
Unprepared
Sending hugs
If you want one
A string of them
Woven into
Rainbow blanket
Embrace in case of
Feelings of isolation
Many more skeins
Held between
Two hands
Needing someone
To untangle
Loosen
Make sense of it
Never seeming
As handsome as
My favourite
Blue jumper
On you
An unwanted gift
What to do with it?
Keep in the closet
Under the bed
Garage sale
Door stop
Plant pot
The kindest thing
To give it back
Don't give it
Away