wearing you


this morning's alarm was the smell of hot dust
and the flood of memories that come
when we light the furnace after first frost
pushing back the chill that slipped in overnight
autumn jumping claim on our home
tiptoeing past our fitful dreams

awake, i sort through the end of my closet
where warm things hang patiently from springtime
set aside when they became too heavy, too much

my fingers, not my eyes, recognize the plaid flannel jacket
and my mind does an instant replay - no permission asked
last year was good to us, when we walked arm in arm
kicking leaves and laughing at our breath-clouds

a trace of your cherry perfume lingers on the collar
as i slip on this old friend, pull it close around me
against the crispness of this clear fall day





legacy


day one, birth
physically naked
but clothed in an unseen
quilt that trails into the past
wrapped in the strength and tears
of ancestors not yet met

day two, life
uncharted adventures
that challenge the weak
and humble the strongest spirit
each decision, every path
a thread in the tapestry
that holds the record
of individual triumphs and defeats
swaddles the next generation
in another layer of belonging

day three, death
into the unknown
slipping off the comforter
folding it quietly
warmed forever by the thought
that those lives bought
with so much care
will slide beneath it
finding there the will
to carry on




the codrus conundrum


juvenal, to be blunt
was just that
blunt
but what a mind
to call out the pain
of inequality via two
disparate men
rich persicus
poor codrus
each losing his home
to fire's careless tongue

persicus had his friends
of equal or greater wealth
who, hearing of his loss
came running with their gifts
and condolences
and in so doing
made him richer than before

while codrus, miserable wretch
starting with nothing but the rags
he wore and a pitiful shack
to call home
lost all to a conflagration
not of his own doing
was thereby made the poorer
by virtue of his poverty

and so the story runs
through history to our now
those who have, when faced with loss
somehow have even more
and those with nothing left
daily face the risk of
losing even that