NPM: Fresh Glory

Two cardinals hopped

Through the budding branches

Of my Japanese maple today

A mated pair

And I was transfixed

By the color of the female

Normally, the males are revered

For their vivid red hue

So bright and unusual

But her tones were subdued

And sublime

The colors of the dawn

Soft cream, pale yellow

And the flush of purest rose

She was the morning sky

The promise of a new day

Unmarred, unsullied

And to me, her subtle beauty

Far outshone her flashy consort

There is fresh glory in the overlooked–

In nature

And in us

NPM: Acquaintances

Have you ever watched

As the crawl of time

And the sprawl of distance

And the weight of responsibilities

And the busyness of the mundane

Turned dearest friends

Into acquaintances?

I looked about myself one day

Like a shell-shocked soldier

And wondered how this happened.

How did I end up here alone?

As if I wasn’t at the helm

Of my own life

And this was all an unpleasant surprise

Rather than the result of

The choices I made

NPM: Just Another Book

I keep the book you gave me

On my mantel as decor

Nothing more

I see it every day

My eyes skate past it

As I go about my routine

The rhythms of a solitary life

Or if I see it, it’s just a part of

My collected pieces on display

One book of a few

Until today

When my eyes lit on it

And I thought of you

And the memory stuck fast

Like a bramble to my skin

A pang that dulled to an ache

For what was or might have been

I hope it will go back to being

Just another book again

NPM: Hope

Hope can be a painful thing

to keep alive

Easier sometimes

to watch your dream die

It hurts like hell

to resign yourself to letting go

But to keep the flame burning

Is its own hell, even so