To my Irish bartender in Dublin

I can still see your lovely lips
As the words flowed out of them
A lovely lilt you had
You were flirtatious
And I wanted you to be
I felt your hand in my hand
As I drank my pint too fast
And another
And another
All that Irish alcohol
Gone straight to my head
And how you leaned in
To speak
Over the sound of the musicians
Playing in the corner
And your breath against my neck
You took the piss
And I liked it
I gave it right back
You took good care of us
Thanks for the welcome to Ireland,
Love.

Original Work: KH 9/1/14

Me and Her

Please
Oh Please
Save me from myself
And all the incarnations of me
That might appear
Save me from them
From her
And all her wild ways
You may see her wandering the streets of London
Or sitting at the bottom of a whiskey bottle
Or living in the chords of a guitar
Being played at a pub down the way
She may be wearing a hat
Or scarf
Or running naked through a field full of wildflowers
As the sun rises against the warming sky
Save me from me
From all the parts of me
That dance through the world
You may see her
Flying to the moon
Walking toward the horizon
Sinking with the sunset
Dancing through the stars
Stop that mad girl
From catching fire
As she lets the sun hold her in its arms
Save that girl trapped in the mirror
Whose green eyes
Mirror my own
Whose blonde hair flows in the summer breeze
And lives amongst the willow trees
Save yourselves
And her
And
Me.

Original Work: KH 8/31/14

Today

Today, as I’m sat here in a nice chair, with the windows open, feeling the slightly cool breeze of a late summer’s day, the sun shining against the blue sky, I find contentment. I remember that at times it is the simple things, the quiet moments, that are the most beautiful.

I am glad that the slight mania I was experiencing yesterday (that I am prone to experience from time to time), has passed, and I am able to appreciate the beauty of a lovely afternoon in late August, as the last weeks of summer make their debut, before autumn takes the stage to steal summer’s spotlight.

Sometimes, the quiet moments are exactly what you need.

For P.N., A Love So Long Ago

Thank you
For that year
The year I loved you
And the years since
When I’ve never forgotten you
You were the first man
I ever fell in love with
And for that
I will always keep you
Your name
Your smile
Your eyes
Your voice
Locked away
In a special place in my heart
Where you will live
Until my soul leaves this plane
And the sun ceases to shine
And the Earth slowly ends
And the galaxy disappears
And the universe collapses back in on itself
My love for your will live forever
Because I learned how to love from you
And I will share my love with others
And they will feel that love
And they will share their love with more people
And so on and so on
Into eternity
And my love will live forever
Because it lives in everyone I meet
Because I loved you
My love
My first true love
Thank you, darling.

Original Work: KH 8/11/14

To N.M., whom I met at an American bar in London

I can still see your eyes
meeting mine
across the crowd of that bar
I call it a bar
rather than a pub
because it was made for Americans
even though it was in London
and i didn’t want to be there
I didn’t want to drink
in an american bar in London
how stupid i thought
I’m in London
I want authenticity and reality
But my American friends dragged me
So there I sat
with a pint glass
my hair wild and blonde
my friends ignoring me
as I sat alone
staring into space
homesick and sad

My friends got up and left me there
And my eyes locked with yours
I remember you staring
and deliberately drinking your pint
not breaking eye contact
Until you came over and sat down
like we were old friends
and you asked
“What’s wrong?
Why do you look so sad?”
You were the first person to ever ask me that
and mean it
A strange man in a bar in London
And I nearly cried
I knew you were probably just trying to hook up
but it felt good to be asked
the girl next to me said something nasty
and you snapped and defended me
and I felt a rush like i didn’t know before
you were drunk yet charming
as is so often the case

Everyone tried to talk with you
pushing me out of the way
ignoring me
pretending you were there to see them
but you always talked to me
you focused your attention
And i felt special for the first time
in a very long time
You gave me your business card
you worked with your hands
and I liked that
you were talented
you tried to give me your Pimm’s as well
but your friends insisted you chug it
and so you did
we connected on social media
the way to love in a modern age
but i never saw you again
and that broke my heart

Last time I was in London
you were living in Australia
you had run there for adventure and life
exploring and finding happiness
I liked to follow your Aussie adventures
through the pictures you took
it made me feel connected to you
i plan to be in London again
in a year or so
who knows
maybe i’ll see you on the street in Camden
maybe you’ll have another glass of Pimm’s
maybe you’ll make me feel like the only girl in the world
maybe you’ll show me what your talented hands can really do…

Original Work: KH 8/10/14

Your Song

Every word you say
Is a note I play
In the song I wrote
About you
That plays on a loop
Inside my mind
Long after you’re gone
When you’ve left me
Quietly alone
And there’s not a sound in the world
Except your words
Your notes
Playing
Endlessly
Until time runs out
And those notes
Echo
Into
Eternity.

Original Work: KH 8/8/14

Urgency

…And my mouth was agape
Throat a desert
Unable to form the words I so desperately needed
They were tangled in my vocal chords
Wrapped and coiled inside of them
Breathless
My tongue frozen in time
I stood and stared
Lost in a labyrinth of unsaid words
And unspoken declarations of love
I wished to tell you how I needed every part of you
The weight of you
On top of me
A memory plays like a broken record
Over and over and over and over…
I hear my name in your voice
And it makes my heart leap
I feel my cheeks flush as I stand there
You stare back and all I see are your blue eyes
They pierce and hurt me
It’s been so long
I forgot their brightness
Like an eclipse I shouldn’t stare directly into
I see your mouth moving
I assume words are being spoken
Wafting through the air
But all I can do is remember the taste of your lips
When they were on mine
How they had a salty flavor
From the sweat that gently touched them
When you were worked into your passions
Oh how I loved them so…
I tried to make a noise
But it sounded sad and I felt sad because of that
And you looked awash in melancholy tones
We were so close
But neither could breathe those words
So necessary
Like sunlight
And I took a breath
I walked to you
So close I smelled the sea
That lived inside your skin
And my fingers gently brushed your hair
It felt right
I knew this as your eyes began to close
And I put my lips so close to yours
And our foreheads pressed so tightly
And I breathed in deeply
And I remembered every moment
And I recalled every breath you took
And I wanted to live inside this small space
And I wished that I loved you
And I remembered that I love you
And eternity was in our breath
And it passed between us
And-

Original Work: KH 6/7/14

Thank You…

Thank you for your lovely words,
They warmed my heart,
And calmed my nerves,
Thank you for your peaceful voice,
It eased my mind,
I could rejoice,
Thank you for your open heart,
It touched my soul
A work of art,
Thank you for you,
And you alone,
Have held my hand,
And led me home.

Original Work: KH 4/3/14

Eyes

Awash in the crashing waves of your sapphire irises.

Original Work: KH 3/11/14