MaNHaTTaN Linear

by Ralph Robertson

To stand before you naked,
in flesh
in feeling
in thought,
yet feel,
unashamed.

To be allowed,
and allow you
within the crazy,
uncensored,
moments of my existence.

To laugh together,
to enjoy your smile
your pain,
involving me,
and have no need,
to leave.

To feel your presence
in absence.

To want tomorrow
to bring much more,
than yesterday
would permit.

To admit fallacies and folly,
face to face.

To not prejudice,
not condemn,
but accept,
as we are.

To offer,
without condition,
a trust in secret,
in public.

That lets us feel . . .
lets us know . . .
we can rely.

To remember,
to keep alive,
those simple,
tender memories and dreams,

that fade.