faultless
to leave me
the winter you loved –
is kept with a quilt in the barn
tho sometimes
I carry it –
home for the night
and sit for a spell
with your warmth

as lingered in moments
scraps of haiku –
verses spilled over
at the end of the day
was your favorite
peaches –
blueberry knew
of a time worth repeating
yet the same –
fell away

of leaving
I won’t get to ask you
another –
or when you’ll return
I’d watch way too long
for a star on the meadow –
of autumn come sweet
I’d forget
we were missing –
to dance
without song

as comforts
there aren’t many left to recall
the orchard since lost
to the passing of time
stories remain
of places
I am –
verses unhinged
by the absence
of rhyme

like the chill
of september –
a promise made true
stored with the others
the box barely holds
every piece
of my aching –
every blessing unwrapped
longing reminded –
how tender
the fold

. . .