Olive Green

Cold water

splashes through my safety

and licks my skin,

challenging me to believe

perhaps this isn’t a dream.

My cheeks are hurting

from my current state

as I listen to the stories

of how riverside boulders

got their names.

Bursts of adrenaline

balanced by the serenity

of water flowing.

I am higher than I have been

in quite some time,

not only in altitude.

In the shade of the truck

we share a moment in time

e tenho borboletas

and very sore cheeks.

The night creeps upon us

above the tree line

and there she was: my queen;

begging for me to claim

what was mine all along.

I gleefully scoff as I make

this realization

and stars begin to pour out of her

across the night sky.

In a tent,

wrapped in blankets and dog hair,

we giggle ourselves

into our first slumber.

I don’t remember my dreams,

does that mean I am still sleeping?