Unrequited

I pass you off
to the universe's
next unfolding,
giving in
to the rule
of energy conserved.

Chaos
wound around the wanting
amplifies rejection
in this space between
the moon, the stars and you.

A cool, blue earth
still circles
as if unaware
of me –
the warming sun who burns alone.

One Breath

Starting from birth, each spring
I inhale.
I draw down deep
the air that holds your beginnings
breathed in, breathed out
from one restless lifetime to another.

I drink in this billow of air
through summer
absorbing every aroma of you –
the smell of your thoughts,
your anguish,
the savory hint of light
that glints in your eye.

I taste the sting of cold rain
dampening summer into autumn,
turning the waiting
and my lungs inside out.
I know approaching snows
by the scent now.

Eternity offers you up
again and again wrapped
in barriers of distance
or circumstance,
haunting me through the seasons
with your many incarnations.

Suffering the returning winter
I live out each uncompleted life
to cherish the fragrance
of your forbidden whispers.
All the while I am afraid
to exhale.