June 23, 2019:

We were always touching.

On the couch, fingers clasped and head on shoulder. On the street, arms around waists, or fingers clasped with arms swinging. Alone: skin-to-skin in the dark or with a candle burning.

It was as if our tactile communion said more than mere language, where only the thin barrier of skin stood between us and merger.

That love was the fulfillment of so many deepest dreams, and the open door to so very many vicious nightmares. In the end the nightmares won, but, there are times today when you can look back with affection for the parts that were genuine.