We take the last light minutes for ourselves
A canoe dipping and skimming across oil slick waters
A chorus line of fish leap into the air around us
And I wonder if we’ve forgotten the words to this love song
It’s eight o clock and there’s a bonfire on the shore mirroring a nectarine sky
My salt wet fingers cling loose to the paddle
And I let you push us out where the lake runs deep
The silence nestles around us and it’s been four years
Since that blistering afternoon where you wept to a crowd and we cut a tall snowy cake to symbolize a togetherness we have forgotten
Darkness descends like smoke filling a room
We turn to see home lights glisten amongst the bluegums
Tranquility betrayed by a maelstrom within
Of tiny arms needing tinier sleeves
An aviary of squawks and gummy smiles, pink cheeks relentlessly pressed against warm chests
How long has it been since it was just you and I?
Surrounding us, the piercing call of a thousand cicadas rises out of the quiet, one last encore before the encroaching night
I look back at you, water droplets clinging to your freckles and my hand stretches to brush your knee
You cease your solo efforts and we drift slow
Swallows swoop, a lone jellyfish like spun sugar is pulled along in our wake
I murmur my dreams to you, a tremulous excitement like the ripples we cast out
We nose the bank gently, the satin of a horse nuzzling for an apple
Your lips brush my cheek as I stumble onto the grass
There is love here for us still
Sweetly Unhappy People 