Warmth

Before we take this ride and let it slide
Into the cracks where fall and winter collide.
I surrender all my gall in a song of modern love.
Remember you're the one who summoned me above any other kind.

The Shins, Girl On The Wing

It's hard for me to tell exactly what I'm saying;
sometimes it takes some wrong turns
and a few detours for me to spill over,
and it's hard to summon the fire
that you settled to a simmer in your stomach;
it's hard to push it up through your muscles and mind.
The wind is blowing so hard I can hardly open my eyes
but the bitter ash on my tongue will soon soften into honey.
Let's uncurl our cold fingers from the palms where they hide
before we take this ride and let it slide

I found my footing in the crumpled mires
of distilled poetry, scavenging for meaning
when I should have been writing instead.
It took us a year of gritted teeth to realize
that our own fingernails reflected snapshots
in eastern standard time, and the sparks in our eyes
came from flints that were not so deeply buried.
I had to relearn to scale downward onto the ledge
where my flesh and blood were drawn down like the tide
into the cracks where fall and winter collide.

The wind wails warnings above our heads,
whistling over the parted lips of our shelter.
Through the tangled grasses of my hair I try
to decipher the salty lilts of your language.
With one hand gripping the burning clear ice
and the other one wandering, on the move
towards yours, I am ready to play the first notes
of the music arcing between us,
the soft chords soothing my raw blood,
I surrender all my gall in a song of modern love.

The colour of my skin is tinged jade,
and in the dim light it's hard to see
just how tense your knees are resting.
But I can read the tremble in your hands,
and our newfound balance has made me realize that
we are one and the same. The music shifts to soft chimes,
the wonder plain in the pools of runoff at our feet.
Oil tainting the glacier water no longer gasps for attention
and it seems that our fingers rest close together as easily as a sigh,
remember you're the one who summoned me above any other kind.