Mentor, Muse, Persistence Paid Off

  
With patient urging tenacity
you slowly peeled me away  
from myself  
discarded each shielding layer  
of my carefully crafted facade  
   
Such delicate, time-consuming work  
for one more used to plowing  
through projects  
getting things done  
moving on  
   
You explained your plans  
in delicious, tempting detail  
while stroking the peak of my curiosity  
teased with swelling anticipation  
and eased me step by little step  
down a path of exploration  
   
Somewhere between the warmth of your breath  
and the tips of my fingers  
poetry unfurled    
and flourished    
bloomed from some long-hidden place  
that felt new  
   
Through all the years  
since you coaxed my words  
into verses  
all these stains remain  
intrinsically intertwined with you