IN THE LAND OF SLUSH
They have been together and in love so long now
That when they think of an earlier life apart, it
Isn’t possible. Or it seems another life entirely.
After all it was childhood only before they met.
Somewhere within the love a child was born,
Came into his own, left. They returned to what
They had before the child was born as if wooded
Branches closed in together like wings of a large bird.
When he told her she was beautiful during a quiet
Meal, it was as if she had never heard the word before
Even though he brought it to her in every imaginable
Way each day. Walking together in a land of slush at
The end of winter in a bleak town meant very little
When there is beauty. It could vanish in an instant
So don’t be bothered with those who hate you for it.
In that same instance others would grab it, gladly, and
You would be looking in. She carried a heavy package,
The rain was new spring but cold as snow, you held
The umbrella for her as you both walked, & talked.
