cloudshapes II

I flirted with disaster.

She gave me a few glimpses of
A world of exquisite calamity, and
Swept my soul down to
Sticks and stones and fragments
Caught up in a whirlwind romance
That was gone as quickly as
It came; disappearing on the horizon
Trailing flotsam, jetsam, debris and dreams.
And while my house was wrecked
To wrack and ruin, and I was beginning
To rebuild without her, she
Came back.

I managed small triumphs.
Snatches of stairwell conversation,
Surreptitious glances in
Familiar places, where familiar
Faces could see us and eyes lingered,
Late night conversations, lovers
On the run, while we waited in
The lee of the storm
I did not hold her,
The barometer dropped and
We both knew the next gale
Was already on its way, and
Calm was temporary, as elusive
As the girl herself

This time I did not hold her. We
Did not kiss, leaving our
Mouths for words alone,
But sometimes we traded
Pieces of unfamiliar skies and
New horizons. But the
East knew us better, and
In shades of indigo and violet
The clouds came rolling in, and
The irony of “ecstasy” was
Coming down like hail

But I cared for her more than
She could handle, and loved her
More than she could bear
That green-eyed girl, her storms,
My world, an uproar, commotion
Of oceansongs and quiet addiction,
Imperceptible hurricanes, words
Abolished and whole cities of my girl
Razed at the possibility of hands
That linger a little longer than
They should. She was the rainmaker,
And when the storm came,
Fire, air, earth, water,
Making us, breaking us,
The only thing missing was
The element of surprise.