Memories - 1996

Memories

Memories of you flood my mind

like sunlight over the Georgia mountains

warming the dew into day.

You beckon me to play among the wildness

of your eyes, your fingers, your breath

beckoning me to love.

And I remember every touch, the heat

that overtakes me every time you’re near

and I cry remembering.

I remember when I am sleep

dreaming you are nearby,

breathing in rhythm,

loving me on the covers,

holding my heart in your hands.

You bleed into my life

                                    slowly

                                                            sweetly

                                                                                    methodically.

I remember your laughter

Sharp and guttural calling,

beckoning a smile

and charming me into your arms.

I remember your arms

strong and gentle

enwrapping me,

securing a future,

a life we can live.

I remember every detail.

The words escape me,

but not the outline of your love

overshadowing me.

The words, some of them are gone,

but not that gaze of desire or delight.

I remember your delight

heightening in my presence,

beckoning, inviting me.

And your eyes, and your lips, your lips.

And your dreams commingling

in our unified pain and hopes.

I remember our hope of a world, safe

For everyone who needs it.

Safe, I say, to love each other, safe.

I remember your love, safe and inviting

            honest

                                    fierce

piercing my disguise, daring me

to be real,

                        to be really

                                                to be me, to be.

I remember well the details.

© Valerie Bridgeman

1996