courage

Let us all remind ourselves
Of the fierceness we have known
Before we knew we were brave
Before we knew we felt fear

That time on the boat? When the nav went dark and the captain went below?
And you stood on the deck and steered in the night,
Eyes locked on Orion’s Belt,
Singing to the sky?

Or what about that summer
When I sunburned my breasts climbing the Mesa
And wheeled with eagles, and camped under a rainbow full moon?

Or chanting in the dugout sweat lodge in the desert
Ember lit, slippery sweat, then midnight sex on the ground
With a long haired bicyclist whose name you never learned?

I knew my mettle when I went swimming in a chilly blue lagoon on Gozo
Fought off an old man who wanted to kiss me
And ran up a cliffside
On the seventh day of a twelve day fast.

And I remember when you pulled your hat down
Retracing our path through winding cobblestone alleys
While a shadowy figure followed us.
You were solid gold armor, man.
You were steely as hell.