My Renewal Vows for our 25th Anniversary

When we first met I was faltering, adrift, lost,
Slipping further and further into spiritual numbness,
without focus, or purpose, and losing my will to even care,
succumbing slowly, but surely, to the siren song of oblivion.

You came into my life like a thunderstorm sweeping over the desert,
Falling like rain onto my arid soul.
The brilliant light of your being chased the darkness from my heart
While the courage of your spirit and your deep, timeless wisdom
Gave me the strength to shake off the weight of despair
And brush away the clouds of disillusionment that were consuming me.

You truly saved me from destroying myself.

Now, when I look at you I rejoice in the reassuring knowledge I am loved,
Truly, completely, without reservation.
I am constantly struck with the realization that you are more beautiful to me today
Than that magical day when we first kissed,
sitting on a sun baked bench
beside a trail following the southeastern face of an ancient Sinagua Indian ruin.

I have grown incredibly comfortable and content with you,
But never complacent.
I am still filled with the passion of that first embrace.
My heart still races at the sight of you, the scent of your hair, the touch of your skin,
The sound of your voice, your laughter,
All these things drive me wild with desire
And each day I fall in love with you again,
And again, and each time feels new, each time
Reaching deeper and deeper into my soul
Until my joy overpowers me
leaving me breathless and amazed.

For me, there can be no other than you.
In you I have found true love,
The kind of love the poets have sung about
Since the dawn of time.
Endless. Everlasting. Eternal love.

I have given my life to you.
Let me give it to you again.

You Need Me On Your Team!

My days off are today and tomorrow. Except I have a customer coming in this afternoon and my employer has cancelled my day off for tomorrow due to a "customer appreciation" event. Hmmmm. Hard working talented male with mad skills in writing, marketing, advertising, public relations and sales seeks employment where a personal life is permitted. Must offer competitive salary and benefits. Can start immediately.

Snapshot

The ground is saturated with Spring,
the old tree stump a pedestal
lifting her naked body above
the spongy moss of the forest floor.
She is an amateur at the erotic.
Her exhibitionism reflecting
overtones of nervous shyness.
Although no one is around
to see her nude pose,
the act for her is so risqué
she is covered in goosebumps,
her nipples erect
as much from the thrill
of five minutes exposed
as from the crisp chill
of a pine woods morning.
She is just a city girl,
reveling in the here and now,
her full length outstretched
arms raised, palms upward, head thrown back
revealing herself to the universe
and a camera lens,
a visual snack with the sumptuous feast
of Mother Nature as her backdrop.

A jigsaw poem - 10 words from my friend Jenni Clark, risque, mother, overtones, now, snack, five, saturated, length, stump, amateur. This photo exists (sort of), the negative buried in a file cabinet somewhere. It's from back in the day, so to speak, many, many years ago when I was a photojournalist and my practice wife and I were camping and ... you get the picture!?!