she leans against me
old i close my eyes
you are the mycenaeans dance
lovely lonely
longing, a warm blush as i wake from an afternoon in the sun
you hide in the closets of my dreams
and i don't know what i've been dreaming of
slow me
be against me
like the tide and like the soft sun
sometimes you know me
but then i forget

who came here just this afternoon
some young man and his elegant wife
but you soothe and you remove me
in astronomine lulls and walls and sleep

the border
she walks down
oh and i love her
the roaring, the roaring thunder
of the city
she grew through me like poplars through my skin
she turned my cage green so it ran out leaves golden spun
and she smiled when i did
she said, don't live fast and don't die soon
die old with me.
know me
slow me
be against me.

when i wake, i wake empty
when i sleep i remain alive
when you are with me i see
the rise and fall of your unique moments
too many to name
so i write like a fool i compare you to words
say what?  she is the sunrise?
no she is the last sunrise
she is the last river and the only thirst
the last eden, hers is the last laughter
she is my only, my only love.

 - "hold" by connelly barnes, 2005-03-21