The Returning

Days apart stretch out long,
but are almost worth the returning.

Lonely lips find their match in an instant
and longing vanishes,
evaporating like steam in the heat of our embrace.

Muscles flex, lungs fill, eyes lock.
We take each other in in every way.

Fierce yet tender,
we are eager but not hurried.
Rushing is for those who sleep.

But we who love with eyes wide open
stand long in the slow burn.

We swallow the sparks on our tongues
until we are melted to the core,
let our fingers light fires
on shoulders and hips
until every ridge and valley is engulfed.

We dance in the flames,
fanned by quickening breath,
fueled by rising desire,
until we are utterly consumed
and left but a bed of hot coals.

And here may be the best of it all:
these wildfires crack open our heart-seeds,
new growth emerging from within.

Not an ending at all,
but another beginning
awaiting the spark to ignite.

(3/25/2014)