Lavender, rose, honey tea
Pistachio shortbread
A faint, warm breeze

Overfill the bath
lay me down
in greens and blues

Wrap me in a wish
share this week
in rosy hues

Crawling into your own bed
after being away
Taking off those three-inch heels
after a long day

Everybody’s Christmas lights
shining down the block
A small hand slipped into your own
while going for a walk

Water quenching hard-worked thirst
A toy from long ago
Dinner someone else has made
The fireplace aglow

A sleepy snoring puppy
weighing warmly on your lap
“I’ll start your car and scrape it off”
A fuzzy hand-knit cap

A gentle touch, a sturdy hug
The way they say your name
In a year of ups and downs
the comforts still remain

Morning coffee
by the bay

Warmest it will
be all day

Nodding to the
passers by

Gradual brightness
in the sky

Breathing in the
early chill

Relishing the
eerie still

Slipping back
into my room

Drifting off
til afternoon

Waking just to
take it slow

Laze away the
winter woe

Tired
is such a
small word

Too small
to hold
this crushing weight

A boa constrictor
wrapped around
existence

Muscle crumbling
like shortbread
in winter

Tired implies
in need
of rest

But I’m
in need
of every breath

The juxtaposition
of the electric hum
arcing
inside my body
and the
mundane task
of going to
the post office

Almost enough
to make me laugh
but not out loud
and then that adds
to the neurons
firing like
hummingbird flaps
behind my eyes

Would you like
stamps today?
He quietly asks
in monotones
that surely signify
his own lighting storm
beneath the well-rehearsed
script that drives his day

I don’t know
what I want
I tell him without
the slightest hint
of shyness
and all the candor
I have in me

And when he looks
up
He really looks up
and meets my eyes
and both our lives
are violently whipping
in the wind of a moment
that shattered the daily mundane

And instead of a chuckle
or half-hearted joke
he pauses
and nods
and looks at my letter
and somehow it seems
like he
gets it

You’ll know
by the time
this arrives
Give yourself time
24 hours is all that it takes
and by then
it’ll all
be alright

And somehow
he was right

Winter came in quickly
without asking
if I’m ready

And the snow
lands
silently

Atop the
piles of leaves

Summer is behind us
One that certainly
defined us

But I think
this
time around

December
will bring
peace

Cake in a wine glass
Champagne flutes of mousse
Fruit on tiny toothpicks
instead of lying loose

Sparkling water dancing
down the side of crystal cups
Elevate the simple
It makes everything more fun

A hour or two
when I met you
to walk the trail that fall

A day spent lost
in solitude
and looking for resolve

A week or two
or three or four
when we weren’t sure we could

A couple months of
wondering just
where it was we stood

Damn near a year
spent facing fears
we couldn’t comprehend

The time it took
to get us here
was worth it in the end

Blue kite against
a white cloud against
a blue sky shining

Cool breeze against
our warm skin against
the cool grass laughing

Making time
to take it slow

Filling up
at the sleepy little gas station
just outside of town

Sun goes down
Headlights spawn on the horizon
blinding streaks of white

Sounds of night
Crickets, owls, rain, cicadas
permeate the drive

We arrive
spilling out like wine and gossip
lost in our own thoughts