{ Beginnings }

It started with a glance.

The subtle reading of eyes--

a newfound dictionary of a langauge accented

by anxious hands

and trembling voices.

The elation of skin brushing skin

for the first time,

an exchange of names

bridging the vast expanse of

the unknown to reach the known,

where the elusive

becomes what is near--

becomes what is

close.

It led to a month.

Of exploration and declaration,

of mistaken assumptions formulated on the premise that

what she said

was what she meant

and what he said

was not.

Of familiarity carved out of late nights spent

together on park

benches

while the whispers of tomorrow were

lost in the songs of today.

When what was hidden

was slowly revealed to an audience

of the one--

only.

It held through a year.

As the fantasies of what could be

were given up for the rich reality

of what was.

When the meeting of hands became

a sacred thing--

and the parting of lips meant

more than a kiss.

Where the eyes of this man

knew the eyes of this woman

and the days spent together began to form

a pattern of rote that

was untouched by the

mundane.

And it created

a life.

Where no dictionary was needed

because the movements of each body

were defined by

the other.

And the origin of each incarnate word was

traced amid gathered

sheets.

Where the thought of a life

apart

was not entertained.

Where each passing month

marked the progression of glances giving way to gazes

of steady admiration,

And where the impossibility of a

goodbye

was confirmed with each morning's

hello.

Because it started

with a glance,

with a word.

It started with

a him.

And it started with

a her.

And that led to their

beginning.