December
Barren trees blanketed
in shawls of white.
Power lines swag
under icy limbs.
Windows brightened
by whitened hedgerow.
Fireplace snuggled
against amber embers.
Two buckets of snow
melt on the hearth
in candlelight’s
rhythmic flicker.
“Black Queen.”
And his eyes raise
to the voice
near the window
where her silhouette
takes him back
forty years. Electricity,
flashing, shadows,
fade in the din
of melt dripping
from the eaves.
Fingers fumble for a card.
Barren trees blanketed
in shawls of white.
Power lines swag
under icy limbs.
Windows brightened
by whitened hedgerow.
Fireplace snuggled
against amber embers.
Two buckets of snow
melt on the hearth
in candlelight’s
rhythmic flicker.
“Black Queen.”
And his eyes raise
to the voice
near the window
where her silhouette
takes him back
forty years. Electricity,
flashing, shadows,
fade in the din
of melt dripping
from the eaves.
Fingers fumble for a card.