for Johanna.
halls painted
in dancing candlelight . . .
my breathing tuned
to the echoes
of your footsteps
How could a memory from 40-years ago tug at me as yours does now? How did you manage to grow in my psyche with such strong roots? I invited you in long ago. But, I thought when we parted, you took what was yours and left. But, damn it; you left me with a smile and a hug and a kiss and a photo of you beaming like the sun. Every year or two, I take it out and there you are, a moment in my life when love took me by the hand and waltzed me into the future. Now, here I stand with the seeds you planted flourishing in my mind. Looking down at my feet, 40-years spent living in your garden doesn’t seem like a very long time.
a breeze
orchestrates the wind chimes . . .
tapping my feet
to the rhythm of your heart
carried around in my head
First published in Contemporary Haibun Online 20.1
