i watch as you open the gates
shoes strode set inside set aside stored
i watch you the same way
i watch the birds flit
in and out and dart out and about
i watch as you offer your hands
possibilities opening at the closing
of your fingers over mine
i watch as the butterflies
dance and dive, dandelions in the wind
i watch as though there are no
vines twisting and buds growing
inside
i am bursting
i watch and am wary
i watch and i worry
birds flit in and out
dart out and about
what if you, too?
possibilities open at the close
but birds in cages beg otherwise
i watch as the key turns the lock
what if us, too?
vines twist and buds grow
butterflies choose where they land and
dandelions would rather stay
i watch as the sun sets on our eden
what if i, too?
unclasped locks meant solitude in the house
while uncaged birds sing with the butterflies