Tempest

When I see you, I smell fresh rain and wild, windy beaches
Somewhere in Scotland, where the sand is heather-hued
And the sky is marble white.

To be submerged in your eyes
Would be plunging into an Arctic sea; but I would not be drowning.
Hearing your voice is watching the tide on a winter morning
Roll and shift, gently, against the sand.

You carry with you echoes,
Words once spoken - or those left unsaid -
And slung over your back.

There are silvery-green whispers,
Flashing threads of cloud,
Knotted deep into your hair.

You are white diamond lightning
Across smudged-charcoal clouds gloom-laden with thunder.

Your smile holds up the whole Earth.
When I see it, I am safe from the storm.