that long slow babbling easy day
was one of the perfect ones *
one of those moments of
happiness that leaves a picture
to flash through my mind with sudden memory
when some song reminds me *
it's not the first of those you've given me...

one of my favorites
is from a long ago day in Port Townsend *
we read the papers together on the balcony
of a well-built old pub
with the Sound spread out in front of us *
the young Kennedy had crashed his plane
but we were alive & wide awake *

simple, fleeting moments
recognized,
lived & breathed deeply,
held precious by my memory
without me *
i shuffle through my moments
& i find such vivid ones with you
* maybe i'm just an obsessive type,
but i'll tell you

there's been no competition
for that hottest kiss
the night i wouldn't let you
come into my room *
can you see now that it was because
i was being faithful to you?
i loved you from the start
-- i knew before i knew --
but i wasn't yours then *

i'm not yours now *
i'm not even sure if i could be...
god i'd like to be!
i'd like to give you back
all the moments that become poems
just because they're so simply beautiful *

that's the thing:
those easy vivid days, that unforgettable kiss,
all the poems i'll never give you
make me desperate to share,
to be certain you know how i cherish you *

it's selfish really *
i don't want to be looking back on all
the precious little memories
wishing i'd tried harder to appreciate them *
i don't mind the "what if..." --
it's the "if only..." i can't live with *

i'm not saying there has to be
some sort of transformation,
some little flag planted at the crossroads *
all the perfect little moments are just perfect moments
...but i do want you to know how they nourish me *
this is just what i feel
i can't let it go by without saying something *

this magic we have -- between around
through us -- this is the best of it *
whatever it is,
this is what life gives you when you're lucky *
doesn't matter what happens,
it's just there *