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
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