And I knew what the trees felt like

bare and vulnerable to the elements

facing only themselves

in an empty field

Yes, the distance held possibilities-

blue skies, shelter, population-

yet here there was still a dividing line

through the slice of my senses

You dug so deep in me-

I knew I’d always grow in you.

(I wish for the green again of you surrounding me)

Because

without you beside me

it’s as if

somewhere

somehow

someone made a cruel mistake

and I wait for it to be corrected

a fanciful dream of coming together

That’s what it had to be

to leave this barren vineyard

when so many vines once cradled fruit here

when so much of me belongs settled there in you

your vintage pressed close to my opening flower