I found you
In the middle
Of the field,
Huddled around
Life as you had
Known it.
Words are
Stunningly inadequate,
leaving stark
Holes and gaps
In the sharing
Of this moment.
Your flightlessness
Leaves you
Vulnerable
And frail.
I found you
In the middle
Of the field,
And carried you
To shelter.
Snowbirds flit
From feeder to feeder,
Biding their time,
Waiting to return
North.
Tanned and idle
Retirees join them,
Counting the days
Until real spring.
Escaping the frigid
North strands
Us in places
Familiar,
Yet unknown.
We gather around
Shared origins,
Watching for license
Plates and
College sweatshirts.
Sense of place
Unites us all,
Like the spider
Web it maps.
You live in the
folds of time,
an Einstein dream
of eternal youth.
Within the spaces
of dreams and
memory,
we are still young.
The image in my mind
fails to validate the
image in the mirror,
a disconnect that
somehow pleases me,
yet waxes melancholy.
Like a whirling dervish
all the joy dances
with us,
making time
stand
still.
Opposing ends of
The day salute each
Other in the early morning sky.
Your calls echo in the
Cold air of the woods.
Whether heralding or
Warning I am not certain,
Left out of the wild
Language you share.
I watch as frost
Forms in the air,
Briefly honoring
The power
Winter still exerts.
Sunrise pulls us
Nearer the equinox,
As spring gains
An ever-present
Foothold.
Crunchy snow
Leaves few hiding
Places,
The night-time
Revelers scurry to
Safety on the
Edges of the day.
We walked side by side,
Lost in casual conversation,
An arm in arm
Loveliness,
Our path
Sometimes worn
And smooth,
Less often steep
And rocky.
Your arm gradually slipped
From mine,
You wandered in places
Where I could not find you,
Unknown spaces shrouded in
The fog of your intimate,
Private history.
Now there is waiting,
Watching,
And praying.
I have missed you
For a time,
That if measured,
Seems like
Forever.
A thin layer
Of ice hangs
In the air,
A wispy mask
Between heaven
And earth.
Winter has
Filled the space
Next to skin,
Daring the sun
To move toward spring,
Reminding me
Of its heft.
What fills the
Space between us
Dares us to move
Also,
To ask, answer
And listen.
surreptitiously like
The cold air,
Intentional as spring.
The day begins with grace.
Though frigid,
The air is full,
The forecast calling
For snow.
I see your face
In the morning sky,
Surfing the
crystal-laced stillness,
Following the
Unseen tracks of
The night sky.
The day stretches
Before us,
Languid and
Loose.
I return your smile,
Cresting the hill
As the woods sighs
Around me.
Catching one last
Hour of sleep is
Daunting,
Invaded by dreams
Of strange yet
Familiar faces,
Caught in unmanageable
Situations,
Scenes of violent
And unpredictable
Events.
You are there,
But not,
Your smile morphing
Into a grimace
That I can not overcome.
Waking is bliss,
Even though light
Has not yet graced
The edge of the eastern sky.
Tracks seemingly
Run parallel,
Lifetimes lived
Next door,
In shared context.
As the future
Swings into view,
Parallel tracks
Warp in the
Hot sun,
Swerving independently,
A snow bird
Phenomenon.
crisscrossing phone calls,
Missed rendezvous,
Eroded common ground.
Paddling upstream
Calls us to plan,
Exert,
Love intensely.
We will.
Stillness settles
On tree limbs
And branches,
As if all the world
Is listening.
The quiet of
The night worries
Not about
Response,
But offers up
All that is there
In silence.
What is revealed
Is not measured,
Crafted for audience,
Meted out skeptically.
It stands in its
Entirety,
Whole,
Imperfect
And beautiful.