2 The First Kiss

Darkness,
wintry cold,
stillness all around.

The
first touch,
electric and gentle.

My
thoughts are
an ecstatic jumble.

What
is this?
Has it happened,

finally?
You were
the beginning of

the
search for
love amidst loss.

This
kiss will
hardly be remembered,

but
it was
a start, nevertheless.

Not
a beacon,
no—but from

then
I could
see faint glimmerings

of
the path
toward the one.