Kiss me and I swear I'll smile-
If you talk more I will stay awhile-
A midnight's reverie brings to me
The specter of you.

Curling in the softness of my covers,
Our imagination creates two lovers.
The perfumed scent of my pillow hovers,
As shadow alters the temporary hue,

Of astral light beaming through my window.
Our natural intensity did foreshadow,
The moment we will reach a pure human glow.
On what conditions... I do not know

Time slips through twenty fingers.
In the light of day this feeling lingers.

Growl, Hiss, Bristle
Cats tail, Thistle.
Smash, Crash, Glide
Linoleum slide!

High, Higher, Highest.
Kitty hits the top.
Feet, Lap, Chest-
Purrs, Snuggles, Pressed.

Stretch, Claw, Dig-
Mouse, Ball , Twig.
Say, Play, Sit?
Cat nip, Chicken bit.

When does this little rhyme end?
With a head smoosh from a furry friend.

It isn't romance that guides your moves.
It isn't a hot glance that attracts your stare.
How much to gain and how much to bear?
How much freedom do I stand to lose?

It isn't a dream nor a fantasy dance.
It isn't a smile I find on your face.
How much pain if I take the chance?
How much time before the very last trace-

Vanishes

Working toward the dreaming state,
the story spins inside my mind.
Clues are clues and do not obviate
themselves- the answer is yours to find.

Still, now is not the time!

Operator speaking: "the correct time is
Four twenty six A.M."

When I say what I think,
I forget to think about what I'm saying.

So lost in the thought, the moment,
the birth of a dream, the death of
the second to reconsider the stream of
words to describe the emotional
birds that fly from my mouth with
featherless wings- like bats.

When you expose what is in the dark,
The light cleans away the haunting thought.

A new perspective has room to thrive,
You realize you are still alive
inside.

When we live with pride in light,
We discover the strength to fight.

I still sing.

Its hard to understand,
when you are a little girl,
the sacrifices your father makes-
for your good, for your family's well being-

You want more hugs.
You want more time.
You want more happy moments with him.

But he is tired and angry.
He works so hard and spends so little.
He worries more than he dreams.

Then one day there comes a time-
When he gives you the world,
The world in kind words, in a helping hand,
With hands he has used to work for you,
All of his life.

In that instant it becomes quite clear,
You are the young woman who holds his heart-
Every correction and every redirection
came from pure love.

From then on you will spend many days,
Searching for the chance,
The opportunity to achieve what says,
Daddy, I love you too.