The Millennium Issue:
Present
Janet I. Buck
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A Row of Lilacs Lingering
Bed & Breakfast of a smile
stretched its scent like fields of lilac,
bubble baths of lavender
drowning out thick diesel fumes.
Letters marching back and forth a year or two,
mapping scents of fond pastiche.
Such closeness seemed unusual
where pages had to sketch a hug,
replacing miles of practiced snow
so common to the Dead Sea Scrolls
of daily life ringing in millenniums.
Little things of friend canoes:
a boat, an oar, such thoughtfulness.
We met and clicked the way
a hand attaches to a pocket watch.
You cleared a path for me to walk,
adjusted points of navigation
based on falls you feared I'd take.
An afternoon of giddiness
that only breaths of brass and bold sincerity
can manage with their fashioned prongs.
You led us through your city gates,
packed us breakfast, lunch, and dinner,
cognizant of tired bones and weariness
the same as pilgrims used to do
for those who rocked a covered wagon,
crossing mountains toward the sea.
Giving arms extended in a rope of licorice
living on love's sugar high.
We felt at home so instantly,
as cedar logs must sleep with sparks
in bellies of a tendered hearth.
Distance did its chocolate melt --
as dinner mints dissolve in heaps
on someone's wrinkled pillowcase
when curtains travel down their rods --
letting the gist of sunlight in.
~Janet I. Buck
An award-winning author, published in hundreds of literary magazines, Janet has also written several books. For more information on her publications and readings, visit her website. Email.
© 2000 by Janet I. Buck. All Rights Reserved.
© 2000-2002 by Cayuse Press. All Rights Reserved.
This page updated April 23, 2002.