Paradise

A cacophony of silences
A homemade shroud of stars
Elvis on scratchy vinyl,
Or Springsteen
Or Armstrong
And forgotten cup of tea
On the nightstand.

Sundance the banjo
Minnie the violin
Bo the big stuffed kaleidoscopic lion
And my small band of teddy bears,
Joe Jr., Kentucky, Sullivan, and Jesse.

My sighs and your sighs on a cold afternoon
We say we're taking a nap, but neither of us
Will shut up. We've too much to say
To each other, and so little time
To get it all out.

My room smells like coffee
And pizza
And onions from the greasy floor at work
And blackberries from my perfume
And dustbunnies on fire.

It's mine, and partly yours,
And little pieces of you scatter the place
And my food seems to disappear
Like magic
And you help yourself to my clothes.

It's new and cold and the neighbors are loud
But it's a place I can go when there's too much to know
And too much to do and I just want to sleep
And talk
And dream
And breathe
And be me.