Ashes and Berries

Roll out the thunder,
the soft autumn rains,
listen as raindrops turn into swift rivers
burnishing rocks into smooth river stones.

Wait with me, 'til the rain goes away.

Outside, where the agapanthus
sway in the night jasmine breeze,
Come hold my hand, run by my side,
just like the kids we've forgotten to be.

Call out to the horns, tambourines and kazoos.
To help set the beat in the warm velvet air.
Dance with me? Kick off your shoes?
Take off your bowtie , your button-down shirt,
cha-cha with me in the mud by the creek?

And when the berries of holly scatter,
tumbling in the waltz of a north winter wind,
come build a fire and toss in the lists
of the things people think we should do.

Ambers of time float into the night
Glowing and flickering, then nothing at all.
So take my hand, curl in my warmth,
watch the fire burn to white ash.

Measure by measure, the sun will peep
up from the indigo shawl of the eve,
revealing our footprints, the berries and ashes,
and the agapanthus that sway in the breeze.