My heart – once silenced – has been captured

and these dreams – once lonely – are now shared

with your love.  You taught me how to rise above

as

I was once lost inside a shell

of emptiness, afraid to be me,

afraid to expose myself to this world

because I was so ashamed of what

they would see.

Words once silence and broken

have now become my strength

as

in the shadows of my own emptiness

I have learned that I don’t need the world

to accept all of me,

I don’t even need the bigotry of perception

to understand my love/this love

All I need is to become someone’s difference -

that person who inspires

and ignites the flame that warms up the soul

of another.  All I need is to be someone’s completeness-

that person who finishes the sentence

within the paragraphs of desired passion.

All I need is to allow these rough hands

to embrace the softness of joy that true love

explores;

for all I need

is you.

(c) 2015

Tarringo T. Vaughan

I was afraid of another flat tire
leaving me stranded on the roads of loneliness
with no one ever stopping to give me that lift
I needed to refuel the engine of my passion

But one day I took a turn

on a street with no exit

Where

There was no end of a road
but a beginning to a natural

feeling of connection

that served as the spark plugs reigniting
my broken down emotions with the renewed
energy of romantic discovery.

© 2009
Tarringo T. Vaughan

standing here at the place we first met

looking out at the rolling waves

as the ocean breeze blows against my face.

Thinking of you paints the masterpiece of our love

as I gazed into your eyes at this very special place.

Look at me,

sitting here in the sand

where I first felt the warmth of your tender hand

as we watched the seagull’s flying up above.

I can still feel that tender touch of your soul

as you massaged my heart with your undying love.

Look at me,

crying as I hold you in my hands

caressing you as I once did before;

an everlasting feeling inside surely to be missed.

I long to feel those soft lips again

as it seemed like yesterday, our hearts first kissed.

Look at me,

letting you go at our special place

as I spread your ashes across the water

where I can still clearly see your face.

Your memory stares back at the tears I cry,

as your release tells my heart it’s time for our final goodbye.

and within it’s presence
the sounds of steady winds
drifting in from the rhymes and soul
of a timeless sea

held us breathless
as the deepness of a smile captured me.

Love, in the creation of a moment, took my hand
as we stood in the sand,
just the two of us

all alone on a crowed beach, the same place
where we once stood together looking out at an endless

ocean where the renewal of passion
again kissed us with waves filled with a promise.

Love, in the creation of a moment, looked up at me

misty eyed, blending in perfectly with a mid-October
ski, the same sky that led us into the arms

of each other’s hearts.

Love, in the creation of a moment, made a promise
that we shall never part

as the resiliency of togetherness proposed
to me and the tears of joy

whispered to this once lonely boy
that I will never again have to spend my

days alone.
Tarringo T. Vaughan
© 2013

If I could come back in any translation, I would want
to be the formation of your thoughts.  I want to be your whisper
when you fulfill the desire of a lover; I want to experience
your pulse when you kiss the lips of sensuality –

and as you lay there/eyes resting peacefully, I wonder
what you think of me; I wonder how your mind works
and how it accelerates the brilliance of your soul because
just knowing you has led to the reincarnation of my being
and tonight as I lay here in the kingdom of your intelligence
I wonder what inspires you to love me.

As I listen to your sleep breathe, I cherish your presence
and want to live inside your dreams because to be your thoughts;
to live within your mind and feel how you see everything around
you is something I explore each time I look into your eyes.

You complete me;

so if I shall die tonight I will always live
‘cause in another life time the strength our togetherness will
be the transcendence
in the recognition of our love.

© 2011
Tarringo T. Vaughan

how lucky I am to have you by my side
as our souls collide on this new journey of connection
and as a soft jazz tap dances gently against the window frame
of our magic I can feel the tenderness of your kiss
vibrating in rhythm with the delicacy of my every
desire.

I have found that this is love as I gaze into your embrace;
as I taste the sweet mahogany of your breathe; as I inhale
this fragrance that is us, I feel the blossoming of this  love
like the inside of a rose …a sweet and delicate melody

as we romance the ways of love into a new
nature of devotion.

© 2011
Tarringo T. Vaughan

Perhaps, within the magic of the stars, the glow of her eyes
still sparkled ever so brightly
beneath the same gentle illuminated sky
as he illustrated the sight of her
by the artistic yearning of his loneliness.

For it was her, his reason, who occupied his mind
with thoughts of their togetherness past;

dreams of twirling in each other’s arms
amongst the rose gardens that journey down lover’s lane
and memories of dancing gently in the music of each other’s eyes
in the stillness of passion where lover’s wane

for it was her, his angel, whose bosom he sought comfort
as he laid his head down upon the pillows of night
wishing she could once again arise
just moments of his passion’s embrace.

Happiness for him was the joy of her;
the elegant pleasance of her smile
that still caressed his tears through all the years
her recognition has fulfilled
his hearts renewal
and happiness was just knowing
her being and beauty
would always be recognized in the reflection
of his purpose as close to his chest

will always be the living soul of her journal
planted every so gently
where roses lay to rest.

© 2012
Tarringo T. Vaughan

written as I think of you

(for Dominic Basile-Vaughan)

Dear Love,

You were delivered to me through the gentleness

of his eyes.  You were the warm tenderness – the healing

I needed four years ago as my tears flowed

silently on the heels of a sudden lost.

You came to me through the beauty of his heart

on a night my mind tried with all its might

to shut out the pain I was feeling, a night in which I tried

so hard to fight the loneliness

that for so many years was never before

so revealing.  As I look back, it was the moment of that night

that showed me a new existence,

within him, through you, I felt myself matter

as our connection shared a new conversation both in words

and through our physical energy.  We have come together

as an unbreakable form of you, the bond created

during a time neither one of us expected

but a time that changed our lives.  Now every time I look

into his eyes,

I am reminded of the passion I have found

within that was always there waiting for just the right person

to share it with.  I am reminded of the thoughtfulness

and the togetherness I’ve found; the emotional foundation

and support I have gained from every touch of his embrace –

as he has given you a face, a body, a soul

that has become my partner for life.

Sincerely,

a man in love.

(c) 2013

Tarringo T. Vaughan

for long I’ve yearned for someone to hear me—someone
who hears every heartbeat of my tears and can translate everything
I fear into a true communication of understanding; someone who
can understand the soft spoken language of my desire and speak
the many tones my mind may conspire because it is my voice
that sings the harmony of every song that describes me

and for so long I’ve reached out for someone to believe in me – someone
to bring fourth everything I can give within every foundation
of this soul; someone who will help me rise when sadness pulls me down
and will help me heal when hurt shatters trust and pain
buries me in anger. I want someone give me a reason to breathe
when life threatens to drown me…because for so long

I’ve felt alone inside; I’ve felt invisible to the many senses
emotion. For so long I held everything deep inside
and refused to make eye contact with the human elements
of affection…for so long I was not ready or able to confess
the sorrow only I created by hiding in a closet so dark and deep
that no one was able to find me. For so long I felt empty/with no
definition to my purpose and carried a numbness to feeling
until I allowed someone to find me and show me the way out
of the darkness.

It just took someone to love me to find the path back towards
self-love and help me hear the cry of my own heart. It took someone
to love me to realize that I could be very visible
in another’s eyes and heard even if I was a million miles away
and it just took someone to love me to find that belief in everything
I could release and everything I was able to inhale because for so long
I just needed to feel complete.
© 2011
Tarringo T. Vaughan

we danced to the music of soft whispers
as the magic of the night became our playground – an

exploration of a new found love.
It was the warmth of your hands that welted my desire
with a passion that had us pulsating in heat
as the nakedness of our lust
melted under the burning flames
of sensual fire.

But then our night faded into the emptiness
of morning’s loneliness
as your body became a shadow of warmth
inside of deserted arms.

In that moment I knew love found me
Because I couldn’t wait to reach for you again;
the sweet taste of your breath left me waiting
just for the chance to taste the smile of your lips

as the sweat of our bodies drip. As I lay without you
I am hypnotized by the memory
of our togetherness but I wonder

was it real or just a dream? Will we meet again
and share the same temperature of romance

or will you fade into just a glimpse of a connection

this time tomorrow?

© 2012
Tarringo T. Vaughan