Like laying on
The bottom of
A cold clear
River bed and
Watching the rainbow
Trout shimmer past
This morning’s dawn
Is the same
Bands of soft
Red surround streaks
Of blue as
White gray tops
The swimming sky
As suddenly as
It appears it
Darts away giving
Way to the
Calm blue water
There above me
It’s a look
Cast off as
A glance that
Lingers a moment
Too long it’s
A joke that
Catches you off
Guard and the
Laughter erupts after
A few seconds
Of thinking it’s
A smile that
Is broader than
The biggest sloppy
Cheeseburger and that
One evidently embarrassing
Snort of giggling
That is freshness
Life’s little miracle
As storms pass
And lightening sparks
Like flashlights in
Dark forests thunder
Booms like hammers
On bass drums
And then there
In the aftermath
Of nature’s artillery
Comes the sweet
Sullen rain pattering
On pavement bouncing
Like little acrobats
And if you
Listen very closely
You can even
Hear a weeeeeeee
My sweet Bradley
Take your heart
From your sleeve
And tuck it
Away back in
Your chest saving
And keeping it
Safe for another
It’s difficult to
Unpin hearts from
Sleeves but hearts
On sleeves prompt
The feeding frenzies
Of desperate carnivores
Hunting the weak
Squirrel it away
Keep it safely
And let those
Hungry for anyone
Starve to death
And like a
Lagoon at rest
After a deluge
Long after the
Thunderous storming cacophony
Of unexpected change
Blows on past
Most everything once
Again dips drops
And finally dies
Decomposing down below
At the bottom
Allowing newness to
Float clearly above
And in clarity
Bright things seen
Swimming and shimmering
Darting and dancing
While the past
Settles down at
Long long last
HARLAN DIDRICKSON 