Looking up

You look up, as I have asked
You, dear reader, to and the
Roof lines caught in the sun
At midday are as wondrous
A sight as promised, giving
You, and me, a reason for
Joy and a moment of awe,
It is not yet dusk, the time
For true wonder, yet we see
The beauty in the diverse 
Lines of the buildings we 
Glimpse from a block afar
Such lucky walkers are we

A day unlike

There are no two alike 
I speak of whole days
Not mere snowflakes
Or, in the procedural
Vein, fingerprints, the
Very tip of which are
Said to be unique, no
Two like each other but
Each special from sun
Up to sundown, rising
And falling before a 
New day peaks from
Behind the moonrise or
Is it the setting moon
There are no two alike.
I speak of entire days.

Is it?

Is it that time again?
Have 365 days passed?
Will this be that night, 
That marks the past?
A toast is always proposed
At this time of year, so here's 
To hope and kindness, to our
Finding our best and being
Our best. Anticipate. Hope.
Balls drop in anticipation 
I'll take a celebratory lap
With all you young folks
Hope is a kind of celebration 
Kindness is a kind of hope
It is that time, again
365 days have passed 
This is the night when
We mark the passage
Tonight we celebrate
It is that time to watch 
The world stop to cheer
365 days have passed from
One year, onto the next

I scream for…

I lament the Ben-and-Jerryification
Of the creamy flavorful cold dessert 
Most all of us love for its texture and
Its taste. Ice cream should be smooth.
Ice cream should be velvety. Lumps
Of candy bars and cookies complicate
A straightforward treat. I don't want
My tongue to encounter popcorn when
I look for the excitement of  a neutral
Flavor,  a simple chocolate. Uninvited
Caramel candy bars or hard peppermint  
Mar my experience. I turn to gelato for
What I crave. "You scream, I scream, we
All scream for ice cream." What's your 
Favorite flavor? A clever pun or a single
Origin like plain old vanilla or coffee?

A deep freeze

It's not news to anyone who's been
Out today, it's cold out -profoundly 
So. My skin has just begun to thaw
In the warmth of a very comfortable 
Room. It tingles, itchy, smarting as 
It warms up, unsure that it is OK to
Relax or ease into the temperature 
In which there is no pain, sitting in
Short sleeves, happily feeling air 
Not layers of clothing swaddling
Me against whipping winds and 
Egregious chills. I am lighter on my
Own outside the winter jackets, the
Protections through which gales
Force themselves, against my will.

Hold on

I've got you, fight me all you can
Fight me all you want and with 
All your mighty might, and all 
The will you can muster. Yours 
Is a strong will, you show plenty 
Of determination, so do I. I am
Determined. I won't let go of you
I will not let you go. It's not yet
Our time. That is our time is not
At an end. You and I will have this
Time as our own. I've got you now.
I am not ready. We are not ready.
Not now. I've got you now. Fight 
Me all you want, but hold on tight.

What time is it?

When he stopped recognizing time
I had to know what time it was all
The time. Day and night for a while
Were his to mix and match but I had
To know what time it was all the time
Day and night. He would ask after it
Knowing that it was eluding him but 
Wanting to keep track of the time all
The time. I had to know what time it
Was all the time to share the time 
With him. I had to know if it was day
Or night, morning or evening for him.

Loss

When he lost the wisdom of his age
I mourned that loss for it was mine
As well as his. I lost the little pieces
Of us as he lost little bits of himself.
He was never alone in all his losses.
I stayed by his side hoping love was
Enough to lessen his burden, knowing 
That losses do not relieve us. That's a
Contradiction to expectations, loss
Doesn't take away; it adds to burdens.
Nothing is lightened by our losses.
So as he loses more of who he is, I 
Mourn his loss as well as my own.
I mourn my loss of him as I watch 
Him count his losses, his awareness
Adding to the burdens of loss. So 
Much taken away, never my love,
This always remains, steadfastly by
His side although I know I cannot
Share his burden or lift it in order
To lessen his share of it. We each 
Share the loss but it isn't lessened
Or cut in half. We mourn in full our
Losses each to each, our burden
Mourned as mine, mourned as his.
When he lost the wisdom of his age
I mourned that loss for it was mine.