Q&A Poem by Tara Crown

Q&A



Where is the risk in saying 'I Love You'?

When you hide behind your mysteries,
the smouldering intrigue like a magnet to
attract and simultaneously repell. And
inside the throbbing hollows of your cavern,
you wish the splendor of your depths,
a spinning pulse, to be uncovered,
revealed, understood, honored,
adored, desired, coveted and cherished
by the earth-caked hands of your seeker.

Where is the risk in asking 'Do you see me'?

When the chase has ended, when the jig is up,
when the truth is known, when the secrets are
unraveled, when the chest has been opened
and all you have left weighing
in your hand is one tiny,
insignificant, tarnished coin.
A smooth gray stone, a clouded marble,
a rounded steel ball, a dirty trinket. An
unglamorous reward for your hopeful
treasure hunting and earnest excavations.

When is the time to ask 'Will you bury me again'?

When your fingers and toes have become stiff
from the cold, the wild wind on your exposed
heart. Your bones, vulnerable outside your
skin, wobble and crack. Salt of tears dried
like rocks in your throat before they ever
thought to fall. And you long for the warmth
of the soil to cover your eyes, the shifting
sand to envelope all of you and crystalize
your shattered breath to this moment.

The will you ask 'Where did you go'?

Back to the secrets of my darkened space
from which my life leapt, out of the stewing
vat, with found comfort inside the light that
did not yet exist. Returned to the place
where love is a blanket, wrapped around
everything that remains absent. Where only
the beam of my own understanding can
penetrate the questions, yet unasked.
Deep inside the bottomless well, where
you stood with patience waiting for the
sound of your own cries to come back to you.

Then will you question 'Shall I ever see you again'?

Jump into the blind blackness with open hands
to receive something true. Look with your heart
for the sparks of my being that only desires
to found by your seeking. Fill your thinking
moments with the question that draws buried
wishes straight to your embrace, and there will
I be standing before you. Exhale one pure breath
into my body and the truth will pull away
thick layers of velvet, to reveal the
hidden flame that ever burns, illuminating
the void of my own dwelling.

And you wonder 'Can I stay here and love you'?

Find your comfort here under the surface,
in the depth that sends those
without a light of their own fleeing
in fright of that which they cannot see.
Close your eyes darling and lay down
your head in the warm lap of my unconditioned
affection. Rest your weary mind, realize and
celebrate your sublime truth in my arms.
My heart will be the mirror that reflects your
highest being, the kiss of my lips nourish
your every desire, nuture your magnificence.
The combustion of our love mixed will
explode like a star and light this unexpected
universe existing here between you and I.

And if I should venture away?

Remember the thought that brought you
to find me and keep it, like a quivering
pebble, in your pocket. Take the smudge,
dark and tingling on your cheek, and the grit
of sand that ignites in your mouth between
clenched teeth and chewed memories.
Keep the blanket which absorbs all that is absent
wrapped around your shoulders and shade
your eyes from the blinding ignorance of those
who sleep on the surface. And whisper into
the shell of your empty hands to know
that I am here for your taking always,
always residing in the next moment,
one breath away.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Linda Hepner 16 February 2006

I agree wholeheartedly with the other comments. And what I love is your enormous one-sided generosity, Linda

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Scarlett Treat 14 February 2006

From birth to death and burial, you've covered it all, and all the emotions in between. I will read this several times in order to absorb this. Each trip through will be a journey of emotions.

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