I loved the man
beneath the cape of finest silk
and neon glow, the man who could speak
with eloquence but chose to let the message rise
from quiet spaces, who practiced reading faces
and giving Spirit time to reveal the mystery.

I loved the man
who flashed a smile that at once unmasked
the woman behind the one I pretended to be,
whose enveloping eyes skirted me in soft fabric
of safety, then flung me to the far edge of everything
I knew and reeled me back in with love.

I loved the man
whose aura popped like candy surprise
in my brain, who was a wave of ocean spray
washing over me, sweeping me off my feet and
setting me right again before I even knew anything
had changed at all. I loved that man even

As I love you
as you are wherever you are and whatever
you think of me, even now as the winds of Spring
awaken dormant feelings and the sun shines down,
coaxing reluctant seeds to sprout, bathed in the light
that reminds me again of the man I loved.