November Song

In the blood and in the glory,
In the ice and in the rain,
In the dust that falls from heaven,
Will we walk this way again?

In November's wistful sunsets,
In the footprints in the sand,
Under bare and rattling branches,
Will we walk this way again?

It's the longest walk I've ever taken,
The sand is stinging, cold and raw.
But when I look over my shoulder
Our footsteps stop outside the door.

One day soon we'll touch the doorknob,
Where our fingers intertwine.
Cold brass melting under our hands,
Will we walk this way again?

November Hurts, Sometimes

The sand is all covered with dry dead leaves, they skitter across the cobblestones like brown leather moths while the Sun walks away south and the sky whispers, "November."

It's the dry, dead, fast cooling valley between the end of summer, and all those warm promises, and the end of the year, when we light candles in the night and hold hands 'round burning Yule logs.

And I hope I can hold on that long....

Prayer For My Friend

Dear God,
Please give her the peace
of a tree going to sleep for the winter,
breathing slow and easy
as the leaves blow down to the ground.

Please protect her,
and keep her safe.
Let no one and nothing
hurt her or harm her
in any way.

Please teach her how to love herself,
so she can love others,
and let them love her.

And please help her to be happy....
and if I can be your instrument to teach her that skill,
just tell me what to do,
You know I would do anything for her.

The Night Before All Hallows' Eve

We were sitting on the bed, Emily and me, holding hands by the light of a candle in a deep blue glass sconce. She was wearing a denim skirt, knee socks and a black t shirt, looking totally adorable as always. Her hot pink chucks were parked on the floor under the edge of the bed, and Skunk was curled up in her lap purring.

As usual, I was bugging her with questions. What is to come? What is the other side like? And as usual she was laughing and asking, "Jim, would you really want me to tell you? Or would you rather find out on your own?" You see, Emily is my friend, and my lover, but she is also my spirit guide....so how would y0u answer that question? I told her, I would much rather find out on my own. And with her as my helper I know I'll get it right.

And now I know what's waiting when I cross over, and I can't wait!

Satine

Falling through air, falling through time, in a gold lame' cloud, with your bloody handkerchief pressed to your pale lips. My God I love you! Collapse on the stage and I swear I will bear you up, breathe God's sweet air into your hungry lungs, feel your heart pounding through your luminous skin, kiss your eyes to give you happy dreams even as they glaze over into unseeing stillness....if your time is over, so is mine.

Rain Dance

You were dancing in the rain with a black rose in your hair, it glittered in the lightning while your boots splashed in the puddles and your skirt was twirling madly. And you flashed your hungry smile when you pulled me close against you and I fell into your brown eyes and I took your hand and spun you and I kissed your rainy fingers and you laughed and shook the droplets from your hair.

And I'm always surprised by how strong your hands are when you hold on to me. I like it, a lot.

And you took the black ribbon from your neck and held my hand, and wrapped it around our wrists and it looked like forever, and that made me happy. Don't ever unwrap it, okay?

The Comets Of October

There's a girl dancing on the moon tonight, twirling mad and holy in her long black skirt. Her boots are kicking up clouds of diamond dust, and the sweat on her face glistens in the starlight.

And I'm stuck here, with my tears so close to the surface, if I can't cry them I'll have to bleed them out. Sweet relief, when the blade knicks my soul. Take all the blood you want, I won't need it much longer. And when it's all gone you can set me free to dance with you in the airless vacuum under a billion stars, and I'll feel so sorry for my friends we left behind. Breathing is so over rated!

And then our real life can begin.