It is truly amazing
How something as simple
As a cold can
Reduce even the mightiest
The confident and articulate
Into nothing more than
A mewing sniffing toddler
Crawling under the covers
And asking for mommy
This is what I
Think when they say
Even the old will
Turn into young again
I finally do
I admit it
I’ve often been
This way before
With different incarnations
The same boulevard
But different buildings
This street ends
Just over there
As it always
Has and then
When we accept what
Is bad as normal
We willfully accept imprisonment
We abdicate our freedom
And then our minds
Accept the abuse given
We surprisingly get comfortable
The only way out
Is by trusting that
Even the unknown is
Better it is difficult
To turn away from
Even what is bad
But trust your heart
Your mind is wicked
Now there’s nothing quite
Like some hot cocoa
Snow falling holiday jazz
You wearing sweatpants and
A Ho Ho Ho
Sweater struggling with strands
And strands and STRANDS
Of on now off
Now on now lights
As I watch you
Grow red with frustration
When I suddenly pull
You into my lap
And tell you quietly
Into your throat that
This is my absolute
Favorite part of Christmas
What is to become
Of us when we’re
No longer allowed to
Dance will we drift
Like jellyfish on ocean
Currents avoiding each other
For fear of stings
Nodding as we pass
One barely apparent one
To the other our
Desire nothing more than
Spiny secrets that drag
Behind leaving a wisp
Of what once was
HARLAN DIDRICKSON 