Approach

Approach

I approach you poem by poem
And leave the same way

And the day I pick up your keys
I’m hit by a wave of fear, and the concern

Purchasing you is the worst decision
Of my life, but the further I drive

The gentle sway of the Wakamarina Valley
The more light and joy enter the cab

So, I stick my elbow out the window
Get swept up in the adventure of it all

Because the river calls me
And you are the river

And also, my first solo home
And I’m smitten by your loveliness

Nudged in on a hairpin corner
Facing first light, perched on the edge

Of the Richmond Forest Wilderness
Where you become an untamable pearl

And the place I first experience fathomless love
Though it costs me the ability to name you

Because to name you is to lose you
In some addled-brained system, so I’m content

To become your much-loved exception
Connected as we are to all life, and what a gift

You become, seeing through these eyes
While your quizzical smile creases my lips

As I prepare to leave, poem by poem
Which is the tradition