out I burned
down I collapsed
in I nirvanad
off I set.

Waves of welter aligned to rewind
losing the weight of mind.
Swear I won’t fall again
But this isn’t feel like falling
Gravity can't forget
to pull me back to ground again.

The tune was arising until it’s fading.
The image is grounded until it’s leaned.
The voyager was granted until it’s strayed.
The eyes were flicked until it’s shut.

The hands were clutched until it’s fumbled.
The sight was stretching until it’s blurring.
The breath was pacing until it’s muddled.
The heart was harboring until it’s shivered.

The butterfly was fluttering until it’s tethered.
Sinking, surging, swirling,
There I was, though no one noticed.
Not even my ashes afloat.

Breeze nestled on wings of cradle
Shade blurred in a beam of surge
Petals flicked off stumble
Thorns unfolded to prattle

Fallen angles tethered
sinful to light the
darkened feather
As it fell to fly

hits my system
and I shake

six days fermentation
aged for four years
in oak barrels

walks across my grave

I've distilled time
into a shiver

The forecast on the radio
I didn't need.
I felt it coming
In and through the threads of my light sweater
Tickling my skin so my arms embraced
One another.

The barometer falling
As are the remaining Ash leaves
Of yellow, like canaries rushing about
Certainly saying goodbye
To the past
As they must
When the wind picks up.

Hurling chilly
whips of wind
down
The East canyon
Announcing its arrival
I think of my warmest coat
And how long I'll have to wear it
As I sit on the porch in my shivering
Bare feet listening for what is to come
The seasons change
How will I?

Frigid cold is seeping into my bones
Several layers thick still
not enough
I wanna just lay in a fire
Let this cold blow over
Let my bones warm
beneath your heat
Calling upon you Sunshine
come out and warm my bones
before they shatter
Need to do away with this
cold
Time for a defrost
and a warming breeze
please before , I shiver
till brittle
and shatter
© Jennifer L DeLong 2/2021

It's snowing
Snowing like it was
All those years ago

Snowing it like it was
When we stumbled outside
Giggling and shivering

Snowing like it was
When we kissed the icy flakes
Off of each other's eyelashes

Snowing like it was
When you and I
were us

It's snowing
So I should be with you
But you're with her.

I studied your face
from below
as your tears
fell through me
and onto the floor
I wanted to comfort you
but I knew
I would only leave you
trembling
and scared of the dark