For Joy Moore
Vermillion, South Dakota
Winter is coming
and I am not ready
to freeze in place,
in time.
I wish for a thousand
years of sunshine and
small breezes, barefeet,
and river rocks.
I wish for California,
I suppose, which is a
real place but not
really, anymore.
My childhood home
is now a desert with sandy
beaches full of signs that
read “Stop…” and “Do not…”
Is there any place left where
we can take our Summer Souls?
I settle into the Midwest with
bowls of unwanted chili and
puffy coats that everyone seems
to own and wear come October.
I settle down in a place I never
saw myself, with unexpected
friendships that make winter
days feel more like a blanket
than an ice storm. It is not
warm here, not at all,
but it is good.
Just moved from a lifetime of Southern California to Eastern Oregon...experiencing all the fall things and the wonderings of what lies ahead for winter. I know, too, that it will be good - no matter what! Thank you!
Chili you did not want... but a blanket on the soul. So beautiful.