You treat me like a beautiful mind
Asking my opinions
Exploring ideas
You invite me to engage in discordant conversation
And uncomfortable curiosity
You bid me to think deeply
To test the boundaries of my beliefs
You ask me to pull you down rabbit holes of rumination
Neither of us sure where we will be lead
Yet both of us excited for the journey
We discuss, debate, and discover
We challenge, and question, and deadlock
Always honest and vulnerable
Open, curious, and safe
Exchanging thoughts and perspectives
With the utmost love and respect
And I thank you for every luminous minute
-gws
When my roots are nourished
The fire at my core ignites
The light returns to my eyes
As my soul flares bright with renewal
Colors become more vivid
Flavors more complex
My pupils dilate
The world is exciting again
Enticing again
When my roots are nourished
My mind becomes expansive
Filled with possibilities, curiosities, and wonderment
My blood sings universal mysteries into my ears
As I become wholly seated in my body
So that I may experience life
Amongst the tapestry of human sensations
When my roots are nourished
I crave deeper connections
My need for physical touch grows
Primal energy infuses my thoughts and dreams
As I desire to experience the universe on a spiritual level
Burning across the sky in an explosion of sacred energy
Enlightened and sated and complete
-gws
I cannot describe the powerful alchemy that occurs when I engage in deep conversation with someone I vibrate with
It fills up the place where magic lives in my soul
It is like rain in the desert
It makes me whole
-gws
The rock stood stalwart over the sea
Strong
Silent
Resolute
Ever watching
Ever present
The sea praised the rock
Recognizing its reliability
Extolling its resilience
Of the rock's ability to weather the elements
Alongside the sea
But the rock wasn't resilient
The rock suffered
The rain mellowed the rock
Smoothing down its defined edges
At first the rock did not mind
Because aren't smoothed edges
A testament to its steadfast partnership with the sea
Showing proof of its loyalty
But water was also an insidious lover
The mist with the help of the wind found every crack
And forced its way deep within the stone
Expanding fissures and causing fractures
The rock without realizing lost itself to time
The relentlessness of water
Slowly broke down the rock
Until it one day crumbled into the sea
It was not mourned or missed
Its absence sparked no shadow of memory
For the sea still lapped and lashed and sprayed and claimed
All who sat upon its shore
One drop of salted water at a time
-gws
Everyday I watch you head to war
War with the demons in your mind
War with your family
War with strangers
War with me
Your war created my PTSD
Always triggered
You constantly strategize and scrimmage
Uncaring about collateral damage
Gleefully seeking maximum carnage
You roll in the mud of your resentments
Wearing them like war paint
Screaming with berserker rage
Craving vengeful satisfaction
Through blood lust and pain
Unaware your counting coo trophies
Leave you the monster of the story
The victim turned villain
Doomed in bitterness until the end
-gws
You were never mine
You were too transient to be considered mine
Too non-committal
But you attached yourself to me anyway
You kept coming back to knock on my door
And I kept letting you in
You wouldn't let go of me
Though you didn't really want me
And I was too blind
Trusting
Hopeful to acknowledge the truth I knew in my bones
That I'd never be enough for you
Because you didn't know what enough felt like
You were a bottomless pit of need that could not seem to be filled
I kept pouring into you
Until I was empty
And it wasn't enough
I always found ways of putting pennies in your cup
While mine lay abandoned and empty at our feet
Both of us left hungry and growling
Snapping and swiping at each other
Bloody
Broken
Damaged
Miserable
And for God knows what reason
Still unable to let go
I wished you had just let me go
And that I let you
-gws
I need fire
Passion
Excitement
I need curiosity and
Deep conversations in dark corners
Long walks in nature in comfortable silence
I need art
And dance
And song
And philosophy
I need magic
And mystery
And unicorns
I need amazing dinners
Fancy cocktails
And whispered secrets over candlelit tables
I need rainy day cuddles
Pillow fights
And breakfasts in bed
I need blanket forts
And favorite movies with popcorn
And taking turns reading The Princess Bride out loud for the hundredth time
I need surprise ice cream breakfasts
Slow dancing in the kitchen
And long, involved conversations about our individual dreams
I need connection
Of mind
And of spirit
If you want to love me I need you to
See me
Hear me
Give me room to stretch, explore and grow
And you will be rewarded with experiencing the world
As the magical adventure I know it to be
-gws
You will never love me the way I love you
And that's ok
Because loving you makes me brighter
Loving you gives my words weight
And my dreams color
It's longing for you that I will avoid doing
It's hoping that one day you will love me back
That I cannot let my heart abide
It's not that you do not care
You care deeply
Devotedly
But it is not the same as love reciprocated
And I cannot conflate the two
Or I will drown in heartbreak of my own creation
Instead I sit in the the patch of warm sunlight that is your affection
Feeling content in being seen
Being heard
Being cared for
In ways few others do
I attach cellophane love notes to the walls of my beautiful prison
Declaring "I love you!" in invisible ink that you will never see
You will never love me the way I love you
But you love me nonetheless in your own way
And I will let that be enough
- gws
Words Wishes and Wisdom 