in another life
the coffee can wait
time is forgotten
as whiskers
memorize my skin
but I’ll not complain
for fear of less
the wait
to drift between
fragile as these worlds
of might have been

in another life
kids are laughing
you are laughing too
a smile invades your eyes
as I concede
hands reach out
across the day –
a distance not so far
a touch
as I’m reminded
not to leave

in another life
years are past
and still you hold my hand
echoes of a lifetime
nearly gone
folded into letters
tucked against
my heart –
souls are faded
nearly into one

in another life
water falls
blue into the light
my feet are bare
the river cold
as cedars rise above
songbirds sit on branches
familiar as their songs –
silence waits
the welcome of your
love

. . .