Confident and strong, self-assured,
you are the lion watching from afar, eyes full
of majestic courage and compassion,
both unexpected and unrivaled
in all my life.

I am the lioness, pacing, who thinks
she’s only a lamb always being picked as prey
when she least expects peaceable friends
to pounce. Deep in my brave heart
memory surges.

There on the grassy plains beneath
the Joshua Tree we lay outside of time. I listen
to freedom’s roar and become champion
of your days. Back home tonight,
I stretch, full again

With the wonder of you, knowing
myself more than I have in a long, long time.
In the morning, I will rise, tentative
but sure; my place is in the hunt
and by your side.