Say it out now, loud enough so I 

can hear it, the way you say my 

name, like it is holy, ground worth

walking on, like you enjoy it here,

and I see it, feel it on these stones

beneath my feet, my hands scraping

air like it can hold me up, afraid as I

am of falling, so hear me, this story 

I’ve never told, at least not in a way my

self recognizes, in the journey

when you know me, all the false

starts and beautiful inroads (some 

might call them lies) that show me

one truth–I want you here, the way 

you tell me the truth and make it 

palatable, this castle of sand knocked 

over with tired feet.