I am always
(I whisper this in your ear)
(I am always walking around
with secrets in my jacket pockets
secrets that only I know
for only I feel
just this way
about the sound the moon makes
in the water
about the taste
of the air in October
about the feel of
my own blood
running through my
own veins
like a silent river
about the feel of icy metallic
door handles
about the smell of the candle
flame’s smoke and glimmer)
(this is the secret:
the way that eyes feel when their glances hold you
the way that dreams slip through our hair, cascade down our shoulders
and this – the way that wonder rolls like a boulder from a grave
and salvation steps out alive – victorious and scathed.
this is the secret – the knowing
ever in my pockets I am holding.)
telling secrets.
mind mandarins 