Snowy start today
someone dusted porch
like it’s pastry
slippery beneath slippers 
just enough for 
pause too much 
for paws stop
we do too
back inside hurry 
where it’s warm
to cup bowl 
coffee and kibble 
me and pal

I have retired 
my lips from 
others be it
kiss or conversation 
my lips now
just mine smile 
in the mirror 
knowing once that 
they belonged to 
others and their 
whispers did too
but their secret 
silence is mine 

Just sitting here
coffee in hand 
blowing steam like 
I used to 
bubbles and wondering 
where’d it go 
all of that
the joyous ease
of glee and 
awe that now 
has been replaced 
by daily sweeps 
pushing aside memories 
that haunt me 
I’ve become my
very own mindkeeper
mindlessly mindful moving 
through the minefield 
of various moments 

Crummy crumbs crumble 
on my lap
littering my trousers 
with their scraps 
scraping up I
do those scrappy
little bits that 
stick to wool
and remind me 
before I remove 
what I’d tasted 
and how they’d 
left little pieces 
of themselves behind 

I shall shoulder
the weight but
he will carry
the burden mine 
I will put
down and be
free from it 
but his is
that kind that 
he will keep 
all the way
through eternity for 
he carries his
in his heart