the way water moves

i like the way the water moves
through your hair
it rolls down your neck in skinny little rivulets
joining the mist and the spray of this morning shower

sometimes, i feel like i'm outside
as we wash and wiggle through the water
sharing the space as if our body

was one

i like the way the water moves
through your eye lashes
and into the lather you've built up around your scruff

you always squeal a little because i like water
that's near burning
and you like your water

just a little colder

but as the water moves, you adjust
and defer to me
i try to imagine what you must be thinking
is burning your skin just a small price to pay to shower with me?
do you like the dramatic moment of entry?

or is it just one of the ways you show me that
you
care?

i don't ask
i prefer to shower with you
to wonder
to enjoy the mystery that comes with knowing someone so well

listening

listening. really. actually. listening. means that your mind is not heading in a different direction than the person you're talking to. it means following them. down. their. path. i think as a little kid listening meant. waiting my turn to speak. as i headed into middle school, listening meant. connection & validation. into high school and college, listening meant. learning. striving. making comparisons. and of course. romance. as an adult, i've found that there are different types of listening.

there's listening. to connect with. friends. family. and lovers.
there's also listening. for information. for work. for learning. for change.
there's other listening. like listening to music. for pleasure. and fun.
there's an even different kind of listening. for survival. in the silence. and the darkness.
in graduate school at the university of missouri. we are taught. to. listen. to. everything.
and amid the piles of research assignments. and papers. and readings. i realize. that all of this listening.
is starting. to. change. my. life.
because it is through the stories. i. hear. when i listen.
that i learn to. be. a. storyteller.
myself.