Asleep you are
An ebony cat
Curled beneath dove
Gray linen which
Has twisted itself
Around you like
Silver crawling Ivy
I’ve excused myself
For coffee and
Words letting you
Sleep once I’ve
Expressed myself I
Shall crawl beside
You wrapping myself
Around like philo
Dough creating a
Puff pastry with
You as the
Creamy chocolate filling
I’m like a
Puppy when left
To own devices
Shoes sofa and
Socks become toys
I need affirmation
That I’m a
Good boy or
Else I become
Just a pup
A bad boy
In your eyes
The day starts
With the tap
Tap tap of
Rain on my
Roof like someone
Sending a Morse
Coded message car
Tires whisper like
Whisks blending eggs
As small tide
Pools collect in
The low cement
Rain cleanses the
World of grime
And the soul
Of its despair
Some of us
Have locked the
Door thrown the
Deadbolt closed the
Curtains and cower
In the corner
Refusing to love
Calloused hearts we
Keep slightly beating
Love emerges when
Tried stay hidden
With only yourself
To love is
Like cutting a
Vine at the
Root instead shape
Prune and teach
Your heart to
Blossom for the
Loving of others
Will always bear
The juiciest fruit
The early morning
Sun dabs the
House across the
Street yellow like
I did when
Mustard covered your
Chin spreading sunshine
Like dandelions held
Under your chin
A cardinal roosts
Proudly in tall
Pines looking like
Christmas calling to
His mate come
Here and kiss
Me there’s beauty
Here as crickets
Sing their last
Opus before the
Intermission of daybreak
HARLAN DIDRICKSON 