Two Pillows

There’s a reason

I sleep with two pillows.

One’s for you

when finally you rest your head

next to mine as we lie awake

each lost in the other’s eyes

til night draws the curtains

of our eyelids closed.

There’s a reason

I sleep with two pillows.

When my heart aches,

when I’m lonely,

when I can’t stand

staring at the ceiling anymore

I pretend one is you.

There’s a reason

I sleep with two pillows.

One is the place

where I do all my dreaming

and the other’s for the ghost

of love yet to come.

There’s a reason

I sleep with two pillows.

One is for me.

The other’s for you.

Some Day Soon

Love, I bet Cassandra never cared much

for the stories of her day

I bet instead she was looking ahead

and smiling at our fate

I’m not supposed to

be dreaming about you

and what you’ll look like

on our wedding day

I’m not supposed to

already know our children by name

I don’t care if somehow

it makes me less of a man

some day soon, with you

I’ll be so much more

Love, I have to confess

even though we haven’t met

I’ve known since I learned to read

you and I are written in the stars

I’m not supposed to

be dreaming about you

and what you’ll look like

on our wedding day

I’m not supposed to

already know our children by name

I don’t care if somehow

it makes me less of a man

some day soon, with you

I’ll be so much more

Love, if someone is out there

spinning the threads of destiny

I bet they’re proud of the work

they’ve put into our tapestry

I’m not supposed to

be dreaming about you

and what you’ll look like

on our wedding day

I’m not supposed to

already know our children by name

I don’t care if somehow

it makes me less of a man

some day soon, with you

I’ll be so much more

Lightswitch

She was always off and on

like a little girl

playing with a lightswitch

I don’t think my eyes ever adjusted

and now it seems her bulb burnt out.

She left the room, her hand hung back

to catch the switch on the way out

she left me, a ship out to sea

wondering what happened

to the lighthouse

She pulled the clouds

like a shade ‘cross the sun

then ripped them away

just when I looked up

to see where it had gone

She coaxed the moon

into hiding her face

at the right wrong time

when I needed a friend, just

when I thought my ship was coming in

Though I miss her light

I’m not sitting alone in the dark

I still have the stars

to keep me company

Though I miss her light

I won’t lose my way

I still have Polaris

to get me through the night

I’ll steer by the stars

to get me through the night