Short Story
She came to me before bed rubbing
face cream from her hands to her
cheeks and onto her lips
and kissed me on the lips
like it was the most natural
thing to do
so I tasted of face cream
long after she had fallen
asleep
and
I didn't
Leaf~Like
How long together —
so that when she
leaves for a moment
to find a bathroom
I wait in the aisle of
a store seemingly
active and content
yet only in pause —
so that when she
returns I continue
and if she didn’t —
leaf-like I’d
blow away
Walking Into Spring
The shortest black shorts on all the sidewalk
Also the longest legs
It’s 69 degrees after a very strange winter of no snow for months and
a blizzard
The hair is brown and straight and it falls way past her shoulders
No one notices her because she is at ease which is why I notice
She’s as natural as a leaf I found today and put into my shirt pocket
Just a leaf, from last fall, and now almost spring
No one else wanted it
She’s just walking
Eating ice cream from a cup
With a spoon
Day
at
a
stand
still
like
only
winter
can
———————————————
Bob Arnold
BEAUTIFUL DAYS
Longhouse
