The hours flip by—much like the card
clothes-pinned to the spokes
of my childhood bike frame
offering an exhilaration
and feeling of speed.
I sit and ponder the feeling
of hearing the thwip-thwip-thiwp
in rapid succession
as each contact briefly touched
the aluminum and let go.
The calendar taunts me from
the top of my desk.
2022.
Fifty years ago, I started this
adventure poor, naked, and cold.
Along the way, I met a partner
so imperfectly perfect that
my life was altered irreversibly
and set on a path full of
joy and sorrow, agony and ecstasy.
Never had I thought to gather
such emotion and meaning
from a single word—
a fundamental, foundational
change both inwardly and outwardly.
Tipping the imaginary hourglass
on its end forcing the unnumbered
grains from one bulb to the other,
sliding unaffected through the neck
to reside in a new home.
Day after day, week after week,
year after year, the grains pile up—
sorting the bad memories to the middle
and suffocating them
with the bright moments.
A life altered because of one word.
No longer poor, but rich in company.
No longer naked, but clothed in intimacy.
No longer cold, but warm in comfort.
Lives altered because of two words, then one.
Hearts and souls united against all.
Companions and confidants.
Two words, then one.
"I do."
"Together."
YOU ARE READING
Layers of a Life
PoetryA series of poems describing the aspects of a life lived. A walk in the wilderness with a shovel can reveal some amazing truths about who you are.
