She slides her arm across me, resting her hand on my thigh. I lace my arm around her, tangled up in her, in the ascending moon, in the music pouring through the air:

"Love that’s worth fighting for
That’s what this is
And how, how could I want more
Than the warmth of your kiss"

A surge comes over me: this new love, this love that's been here through thick and thin, this love that finds away to keep its shape even under pressure from all sides. I am in love with a woman and she is beside me and she's illuminated our night with a waxing moon so brilliant, it eclipses even the stars. The stars are in our eyes tonight, filled with the glee of youth, of soulful songs that lift our spirits and seem to me to paint a story of life's battles overcome. Of survival and love and strength.

We are on the bridge of a new beginning and I am falling in love all over again with a woman and the moon and the magic that makes it all so heartbreakingly beautiful and real.

"Let the mountains rise, I will climb them all
When my body’s weak, I will not fall
Baby, come what may I’ll find a way to get through
There’s nothing that I won’t do
To be loved by you"

September 20, 2002