Still Climbing
Days
run together
and look the same
even as spring buds
and shifting seasons
should make each day
unique
and different
and yet
the struggle
to find the differences
is far harder
than
it should be
poetry
Gideon’s Challenge
The Kiss
“Open,” he says.
and lips part
on command
to welcome in
the heat and hunger
that makes cheeks
blush
and blood thrum
like thunder
in the veins
as skin flushes
with hues of pink
and quiet sighs
turn into more
as intensity
begins to build
Photo © ZenStatePhotography
Gideon’s Challenge
The Bleeding Heart
Your words
slip in
to touch my soul
and the ache
of tight knots
unfurls
bringing tears
to my eyes
that wash clean
the lingering cling
of pain
and help
my bleeding heart
begin to heal
Photo © ZenStatePhotography
Gideon’s Challenge
Home Coming
A welcome home
comes
in the chirrup
and meow
of a little voice
as tiny feet
stomp
on carpeted floors
to exclaim
displeasure
even as the rub
of sleek fur
against ankles
speaks the words
“I missed you so much”
over and over
Photo © ZenStatePhotography
Gideon’s Challenge
Beltane Is Coming
New tips
in delicate hues of
sweet and tender
green
reach for a kiss
of sunlight
while being
coated
in raindrops
like a sacred bath
before the ritual
of Beltane’s fires
begin
Photo © ZenStatePhotography
Gideon’s Challenge
The Shell
Solid and strong
I slip from tender
to flexed and knotted
in a matter
of moments
and yet the path
back to tender
and vulnerable
takes so much longer
as falling apart
is far more difficult
than holding it together
and pretending that
everything is okay
Twisting the Leaf 