Went down to the river to watch its shimmer.
Sunlight dances in ripples you know.
Teasing, as it rests its golden round in the dark. Lifting you as it breathes itself back into center.
Again again! We sing out, breast bare, basking in its sensual haze.
A warm reprieve from the walking and wailing on unsteady ground, bundled in hand-me-downs, gathering for the fire.

Again and again.
Transformed together in this wardrobe tucked within the spare rooms of time.
Dancing with the dark in each unsuspecting costume change.
I picked these flowers in the sun.
I picked these flowers for whatever is to come.

*This poem is available in my book Soft With Me, printed and bound in Western North Carolina thanks to a grant from the N.C. Arts Council.