Aivy

I saw the lines of your face

etched into a past so haunting,
so full of quick smiles and 
a slow and steady perseverance 
that my breath caught deep 
in my lungs, in my soul. 

She was poise and composure, 
with a laugh that spoke to 
wisdom beyond her earthly years, 
a sound that was timeless, knowing, 
alien in its placement amongst 
hungry bellies and guarded faces. 
We met through a family as shy 
and fleeting as polka dotted butterflies. 
As they float around the temple 
do they worship the gods, or 
do they say thanks to the sun?

I found her to be fearless, a 
leader in the games we play 
as children before we understand
the underlying messages and 
warnings they teach us to survive. 
Counting becomes a march towards 
a borderland between prosperity 
and poverty, the steps in between
share the same 1,2... 1,2 rhythm.  

Her gaze knew too much, an elder, 
it was hard to tell if she was aging
forward, backward, diagonally...
pasts and presents and futures blended. 
She was a watercolor painting with
acrobats flipping in endless circles 
through hardship and success and 
moving through life's motions. 

I could hear your humor in her eyes, 
I could see your grit in the way she 
mastered anything placed in front of her, 
and as she danced I could feel the 
joy in her determination to thrive. 

Griff Graff

I saw the lines of your face

etched into a future so beautiful, 
so overwhelmingly warm that 
for a moment my heart shattered 
into one thousand pieces. 

It was nothing in particular, 
but it was a dandelion sunset, 
sunrise of promised tomorrows. 
"Morning sunshine" and "try some,"
and remember that time when 
your hair brushed your shoulders,
a protective layering not unlike 
the way my embrace was meant
to shield you from the elements. 

Someone sheared his Samson locks, 
but in his eyes was a past, was your
present, a gift to those around you.
You've always been family and when 
you were birthed into this world
we linked arms and our embrace 
was thicker than blood and was 
more sustaining than water. 
Genetics aside, we have GNA and 
terrible puns, the kind that make
your sides ache, your eyes squint. 

What did I do to ever deserve a 
brother so sweet, so thoughtful, 
and how can I ensure in this
rinse and repeat wash we call life
that when the timer beeps 
and the record is clean that 
I'll always have family like you?

He has your inquisitive mind and 
easy smile, a way of accepting and
challenging, not unlike tug of war
but more akin to a dancer.
His past is inexplicably etched into
the crinkles around your eyes.

Preah Vihear Musings

"Cultivate a heart of love that knows no anger."

Tread lightly on this world for                                        They protect and serve

it cannot always bear                                                a conflict of war and faith

the weight of our cruelty.                                                while butterflies float.