Branches

My lover’s body was like a full-grown birch
Rising far higher than my reach
Heads above me, feet rooted firm
Steadfast trunk, solid and smooth
I could lean against him
Full weight of my exhaustion
And always receive succor from his core
My head against his wide chest
Constant, quite breaths and beats

My lover’s arms were like sinuous branches
Stretching from broad shoulder bends
His touch like the brush of new leaves
The earthy physicality of his soul
Inhalations of arboreal adoration
Embracing me, bracing me
Surrounded by boughs of solace
Sturdy limbs of tender shelter
From the westward storms that bore me

I made my home in my lover’s tree
He kept me, and I was happy
Passing many seasons simply
Quenching caresses exchanged
We grew together in laughter
Under his comfort canopy
Strong and steady, barely bowing
To the wind’s petulant howl
Subsided and safe in the woods

But my soul is like a seagull
Full of cacophonous calls and cries
Instilled with the instinct to fly
Bold, brash thing of March winds
Yearning for the tempestuous tides
Crash of foamy spray on rocky shores
Weathered, battled-scarred like me
A wild woman with wings
Too wide to roost in my lover’s limbs

I fled the forests to test the sea’s fate
Headstrong, head first into squalls
Losing myself in the toss and tumble
Consuming tempests, windblown back
I drink the bitter brine with relish
And let the salt set in my marrow
I left my lover for the ocean’s passions
Yet on quite nights I miss the trees
And long to be held by branches