The snifter of my inner soul
at the center of all I know
is filled with a liquor
both strong and sweet
into which
I oft retreat

Bitter in its sadness
Sugary in its desire
It holds a vintage
old and smooth
aged in tears
and infused with fire

The liquid cold
I hold so near
and memory warms
each passing year

The aroma yet
can awaken dreams
as my open eyes
recall all these things

You wore the velvet brandy
I drank out on that pier
the night you dove
into the waters
of all I am
now and here

You broke the seal
on a sweet champagne
and washed my toxic
world of pain

Until the tides
swept out to sea
the last sand bar
of an endless beach
and placed my heart
on an island lost
and your sweet spirit
without cause
drifted far beyond
my restless reach