for alina

move slow

that I may catch stars flying through the night

like schools of silver fish

slipping through fingers

and puffs of short breath

snatched by glorious heights.

they long to know

to know

how to breathe

how to be

how

to move slow

slow enough to wander

like the shepherd who knows the plains

like the earth breathing, birthing seeds of grain

like the sweet memories of your most choking pain

as it’s singing your name

so sweet, so beautifully insane.

so

so slow

slow enough

to see you with all my wonder

slow enough

for light to pass into and out of the dark

long enough

to subdue the pangs of hunger

long enough

for warmth to seep into this bleeding heart.

surely we find love

in all the wrong places

surely we spend forever

counting blessings 

and forgetting faces.

and as the November sun sets on this dusty city 

i remember your touch

remember the smell of salt 

and dreams so pretty

remember

as often as I forget.

so in this pain and pleasure and love and everything that is

move like the water who forgets to be a wave

move like the air that knows not which way

to find rest in thirsty lungs.

and find me slowly drinking from the fountain of your love

as it reminds me to pray

to move slow

through each and every breathtaking day.