The Kiss of Winter (for K) 11/23/10

The kiss of winter
Passing lightly upon my lips
Not perhaps the extremes of her world
White and hard and clear
Rather it is a shifting
A subtle variation in shade
Slate blue to charcoal gray
A lengthening of shadow
Still I feel the fall
and the coming season
Chilly mornings, short days
In every breath
Steaming from my lips
The kiss of winter
Passing lightly
In the beginning of the day

Common Wisdom, 11/18/10

"Why can't things ever be easy?" She says
In the common wisdom of the everyday
Common wisdom, common truth
As I try to find our place
Three points on a map
Triangulations of the human heart
As we worry about the mundane
Leaving tomorrow to come
Here already, lurking in the bushes
Ready to announce its presence
To tear the world apart
Chemical reactions to unwanted growth
Common wisdom, common truth
I only wish I could release this sadness
Let it flow through my fingers and scatter to the ground
Fling it away with a fury
To be free of it for once
Still it clings, like sand
holding close to the intimate places
Itching and chafing and declaring itself
"Did you think I was gone? I will not be ignored!"
And she says, "Why can't things ever be easy?"
Why indeed