Under the Arbour

I wish to not be cruel,
to leave no brutal scar
across the open heart
who welcomes me
with each eternal breath
through days on earth
and those beyond;
to never blind the eyes
that recognize
nor lay the lash
across his waiting back,
my own soul cupped and
cradled in his arms.
Yet I who profess love
do simply that,
awake to days that
do no less than dream,
inaction bound [...]

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Cayuga Lake’s asleep again,
ice-locked at her edges;
dressed once more
in shreds of light,
organza, wispy curls
across her skin-
beauty lying deeper
than her dreams.
Denise and I would skate
when we were girls,
flying toward each other
till we met and locking hands
would spin in dizzy circles,
laughter pealing bright
in frigid air;
innocent of life to come
and choices made,
of sorrow bearing arms
against the days
that rushed [...]

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I left the pub unnoticed-
stars, with brilliance burned,
walked westward
toward a solitary hill.
Conversation clung to me-
snowflakes brushed away,
dusty cheer and merriment
left lying on the ground.
Humanity, her shallow light,
remained behind, as I
ran through deepening snow,
seeking what can not be
paper bound, nor trussed and tied
with ribboned bows, adorned.
Up the wooded slope
through branches stark and white;
onward, upward, clearing bound,
footfall [...]

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I walked the paths
through Simon’s Woods today,
the dry leaves
spilled and speaking
‘neath my feet,
restless tales of
autumn’s long ago.
My father burned
the leaves he’d rake
each year,
their acrid perfume
hanging in the air,
heat in cool, their
cinder’s sparked and flew.
We’d jumped
into those piles, Nan and I
and flung those gathered
dreams so high and free,
laughing, cheeks alight
with rosy glow,
the happiness of
childhood freedom, blessed.
The [...]

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