Brief Constellations

Let the whole city sleep, let it soften and fade,
you’re my lioness in the savanna we made.
Past the window — no world, not a glimmer of light,
here there’s only us two, only summer and night.

Your heartbeat’s my rhythm, I follow each beat,
we’re tangled together, where old sorrows retreat.
Night wraps us in velvet and shuts out the view —
for you there is only me — and for me, only you.

Wept, wept, the moths at the edge of the flame,
not one day without you could ever feel the same.
Wept, wept, the surf kept crying endlessly,
my happiness is only real when you’re with me.

The Milky Way above you leaves stars on your lashes,
each breath a confession, each word becomes a passage.
Don’t look through the window, don’t call to the night,
the whole universe is here, holding us tight.

Let the world shrink down to the rhythm of breath,
to the touch of your lips, till there’s nothing else left.
Outside — quiet streets, streetlights, somebody’s fall,
but for us there’s a road, and no questions at all.

Wept, wept, the clouds while the whole night grew foggy,
tonight with you I was... just a little naughty.
Wept, wept, the rain on the midnight pane —
we loved one another again and again.

We need no streets, no calendars, no days,
only lips in the half-dark, only shadows and haze.
You’re my whisper, my rasp, my unfinished line,
and the shattered pieces of heaven are yours and mine.

Star-ash glimmers softly along your lips —
the whole sky must have fallen and burned us like this.
We need no reasons, no ordinary explanations,
we were made to live inside these brief constellations.

Whirled and wept, chrysanthemum petals in flight,
every poem I have ever written is yours tonight.
Wept and smoldered, the silhouettes of dawn,
I’d give you this whole planet before night is gone.

I know now the warm, damp feel of your palms,
God, I love you... my kitten, here in my arms.
Your lips are beautiful — each one has a name;
my kisses land precisely... though missing’s fair game.

Your lips are forbidden — I’ll touch them anyway.
You are fire, I am wind; I’ll carry your sorrow away.
My hands move like waves — now caressing, now holding,
you breathe and you burn, and hope keeps unfolding.

Wept and fell, the leaves in the garden below;
to the edge of the earth, where you go I will go.
Wept and sang, tender notes as the night slipped away,
for us there are no goodbyes, no dates, no last day.

The angels were weeping to see us say goodbye,
we must have met so someday we’d be side by side...