Aussie

8,191 miles, a rough estimate

Of the distance 

between us

I can't walk it.

There's more than four oceans 

That separate us: Pacific, Coral, Tasman, Great Australian Bight

Full of sea creatures I've never seen

or heard of

I can't swim it. 

Over there, it's winter.

I check my weather app: 45 degrees

And raining

12:47 pm, 14 hours ahead

Oh, how time tears us apart, too.

I imagine you at work
in the park 

Your knees drenched from

Being in the soil
too long

Pulling up weeds

Taming them for just a 

moment,
knowing they'll never
obey your hands

I imagine your hands--
elegant but strong
full of calluses

I can't smooth them away.

Where I am, it's summer. 

80 degrees and sunny 

And my skin is more olive than

The last time

You touched it

I've since dyed my hair: 

Lavender and pink,

Like the sunset we shared

On the bus back from St. Andrews

That I hardly paid mind to

Because your fingers kept brushing mine--
Distracting and electric

It's been months since I've seen you
But I can so clearly see our history:
an impulsive kiss on the loch,
your can of Guinness exploding
blanket forts held up with duct tape,
my head sleepy in your lap
a freezing swimming pool,
your arms around me, laughter in my ear
naked in the Scottish starlight 
The moment I first met you,
a firm handshake, a
smile you pulled
from me

Effortlessly.

Whatever this is, it's stealing

my dreams

Compromising my

peace

Stretching my heart too far
across
the globe

How can I love you
When I only know how to do it
in such short distances?

(By the way, I should probably mention, 

I only ever write poems for the people

who ruin things)