Once I called you king,
David. King David. What songs
you played with words that soothed
like psalms and melodies that
stirred my heart to trust
in life again. Once…

I called you once,
king of hearts, not knowing then
what it was I had to say. Love,
love – it was love I wanted
to give but could not,
my heart too broken.

Once I called you king
of possibility, and I believed, yes,
I believed that you believed
in me. On that count,
I concede I was
mistaken, but once

you looked beyond green
of my eyes and swam in the pool
that is my soul. Did you know I
had waited all my life for you
to look into my eyes?
I remember once

in a dream, I suppose, this
debilitating pain of being banished
from your world disappeared
as you opened the door
to your wide kingdom
and welcomed me.