February 18, 2021
The ice settles in
Tiny pellets on the stove vent
Dancing off the deck boards
Shrouding the purple winter kale
There is no space for mourning
You, who were never still
Must finally stay home
No room for remembrance
Messages ping and pile unread
Sipping coffee and staring
Claiming ten minutes
Just ten minutes
That is all I can afford
While building a new life
From the ashes of things
I do not get to miss
Or even mention
Painting this landscape
White on mottled brown and green
As though nothing was there before
As though the Technicolor years
summers, laughter, screams
All were nothing
Let the ice fall
Form cathedrals in trees
I remember going with you to see the Mission
Where the butterflies come each spring
Roads now impassable
Force a pause to conjure
Far journeys I vow to take
Perhaps to the mountain
Those butterflies return in winter
Shelter together to survive this cold
Flitting spells casting shadows
Light a candle.
Offer a prayer.
A silent benediction
