Love like a Vineyard

Precious rain kisses California—

It's been a while,

And the sandy earth beneath the vineyard

Hisses its satisfaction.

They say desire lives in the spaces in between,

But what if desire is torrential?

What if no discernible space exists between

Raindrops in a downpour?

Each day I prepare for Alone

Because that's what lives below the earth.

They say love, like life, is by nature uncertain,

And any attempt to pin it down,

Force it into predictability,

or make it last beyond its time

Makes you a fool.

It makes you a killer of love,

A dark acolyte

Extinguishing beautiful things.

How it would kill me to see you unhappy,

But then,

How do I lose you?

Tell me how to remain whole

As the cracks on my skin widen,

And I feel that I might burst into suns.

“This is you,” you say with adoration,

But I am neither here nor there,

While I can feel you everywhere.

While you’re gone

Remember to write—

Tell me, is the soil good

And are the grapes yet ripe?