Cairn double

At dawn I sit on the porch

with my Lover.

We sip licorice tea

and listen to robins chirp

and doves coo.

 

During the day

we work together—

sweep the floors

cook fennel with snow peas,

even the mundane tasks

joyful because we are together.

 

We collaborate on creative projects

like this poem.

I listen as the Lover

flows the words through my pen.

 

And then we spontaneously

waltz around the great room

to the silent Sound.

 

I had dreamed of

a love such as this,

a mate to share my days,

who is willing to face challenge

without cruelty,

to leap off the great cliff

certain we will soar.

 

Someone who cares

no matter

the state of my physical body

no matter

the shakiness of my emotions

or the agitation of my thoughts.

 

I had given up hope

content in my solitude

until one day

the Lover appeared.

 

And I realized this Presence

had been here all along.

 

It was like a too-small apartment:

One day you open a door

and a whole new room appears.

 

Or that sweater you desired,

only to find

it was in your closet all along.

 

Now that I know the Lover is here

we never part.

Like any new companionship

we can’t get enough of each other

talking into the late hours

about nothing and everything.

Cairn single

And then we sleep

spooned into one another

so close that I realize

the Lover is Me.