The dark, cool air showers us

as we step out into the newborn dusk, your

hand smiling into mine, our

eyes shyly making acquaintance as we

set off through the stars.

Words, polysyllabic confections, float between us;

you are laughing now, softly, and the sound

sends tiny, winged phantoms fluttering up my spine, as if

they, like I, are breathtaken at this generosity—

Stealthily, our voices slip away from us, stealing all possibility

of contemplation as we tilt toward each other…

A flurry of lips,

the twilight around us whispers—

and for a moment, we

are one.