Welcome to my closet
Is so socially awkward
Parading your secret
But necessary
To speak of
Somewhere
Let it all out
Proudly state
With elevated
Heart rate
Yes!
I am
A poet

Welcome to my closet
Is so socially awkward
Parading your secret
But necessary
To speak of
Somewhere
Let it all out
Proudly state
With elevated
Heart rate
Yes!
I am
A poet

'...Is sweet and heady
Like my love
I feel unsteady
Where's my love?
Listen to me
Why is everything so hazy?
Isn't that she
Or am I just going crazy?
Lilac wine
I feel
Unready for my love'

Lyrics by James H. Shelton
No matter how
Hemmed in
We might feel
There is always
A way
To shine

Seeing green
Is necessary
For healthy mind
Forest bathing
Sublime
Wandering through
Hapless lives
How many times
Listening in
Expecting
Indifference
Disinterest
Instead
Twist of pain
Sharp sides
Insecurities denied
How I longed
To rest alongside
Ever wondering
Are they happier
Without me?
So many unknowns
Least of all
Knowing eyes
Green or blue?
Depending
Whether
Looking
At you

Surrounding me
at table
While they make
a cup of tea
Feet dance down
The valley
To observe swell
Of spring
Pause and ponder
Habitat
Wonder gaping
Tiny things
Glorious enormity
Companion
On the wind

We say farewell
With a gift
Not many receive
A living thing
To tend and care
Responsibility
To remember lives
We cannot share

The special two
Who walk idly
Along the beach
In their imagination
Smiling at passersby
Holding hands
Greeting fellow
Furry four-leg friends
A woman's worth
Measured in beats
Of our hearts
Glad to be alive
She spies her love
Like a sweet secret
A jar of pear drops
Hidden entreat
Seeking waterfalls
Watching them spill
Away to sea
Feelings cascade
Endlessly

Would I be amiss
To ask you
As the rain
Washes through
Opening again
Until the summer
Scorches us
We hide away
Missing crimson
Pea flower
At Christmas

As hours expire
Gazing window view
Love of labour retire
Labour of love renew
Little surprises find
As a couple appeal
Acknowledge fine hands
That made our meal
Return home to kiss
Heads upward bent
Work to prepare
A meal among friends
A satisfied look
Falls on tired faces
Giving love and life
Into all open spaces

Their wife for a hat
A child for a cat
A lover for a bat
A friend for a mat
Sensibilities
Surrounded by
Seratonin
Someday fades
Why not instead
See streets of gold
Homes of gingerbread
Chocolate rivers
Smooth sailing comes
When you find your crew
Will you take me
As I am?
*The Man who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, a book by Oliver Sacks.
