New Sphere of Influence

This is the year I’ll contemplate the fire-fangled sky

over the isle of Pag, authored by my lover’s eyes.

A crimson rambler uncurls its petals, and I am whistling

a dusty concerto, “Hope with Roadside Wildflowers.”

I want to unfurl in the sodden fields of her daydreams.

Who wants immortality if she must die?

Once I thought stars were everlasting, only dying

behind a cerulean curtain, cloudy rains at dawn.

My lover’s lips are twin geniuses. I’ve trashed the movie stubs

of my past. I’ve front row seats to her mumbling sleep.