Claiming My Voice: From the darkness, the light emerges.

He smelled like garlic and the Earth

His hands were rough

His touch gentle and tentative

His thoughts intrigued me

He made me laugh and think

I loved to watch him with her

His reverence for her

The way he tenderly addressed her

…especially when she was angry

When he was not around, sometimes we would listen to his music

She listened so intently

Like all the answers were in his songs

I suppose they set the standard for me

And why I remain alone

I want a him

I want a him I love they way she loved him in those days

…the way I saw him

I want to be loved by a him like him

Creative, clever and attentive

I still spend time with him somewhere in the space between memory and imagination

Until, if ever, he comes

Aside: When I quit smoking, I gained some weight and he told me how I was much more sexy since I had “filled out a bit.” I wanted to be offended but instead felt immensely beautiful. That was the kind of man he was.