.

It was on a wonderful summer morning when
sun warmed emotions met at the intersection of our hearts
Love bloomed in fragrant bouquets of forever dreams
while cattails and lily pads dotted flowing streams of affection
Every winding path led to a place we’d always longed to be where butterflies accompanied us to afternoon picnics on grassy foothills
and lemonade kisses tasted sweeter than lavender honey
Soft breezes sung to us in symphonic whispers
as sprawling oaks reached overhead in canopies of shaded bliss
Blue skies caressed our bodies as we tenderly embraced
the beauty our love had sculpted on the landscape
and all was perfect in my world –

then came winter

.
Sadness drapes my shoulders
in black clouded blisters
dropping hazy shadows
at a bus stop called nowhere
Blank stare passengers
read out of date magazines
as I sit on the first step
tossing quarters at pigeons
having bird *** in the park

I watch as my fingers twist around
a kite string seeking merely a breeze,
arctic or otherwise to drag me down
the potholed one way street
that leads past your door
Skinned knees and a bruised heart
outline the address where
I once felt welcome,
at least the mat said so

When I hear my name called
over barking dogs and lawn mowers
in need of tune up
and as I look above the silhouette
of the man I used to be
I see myself, choking on his dreams
in a "deliveries only" alleyway
littered with false destinies
and realize I am home