to: you

the view from the old bay window

barefoot

the rain falls
leaving dark fingerprints where it touches the ground
as you and I chase the sunset
all the while knowing we'll never catch up

the crickets are the song of the night
breathing in and out
and now, with all the longing of my soul,
I do believe

that if you tie your blanket around my neck
and keep watch from the backyard swings,
I can fly barefoot into space
and bring back the stars that are calling our names

but if I get lost in a stormcloud
or gravitate to the fragmented moon,
will you take off in our cardboard spaceship
to find me and carry me home?

because you are the only one
who can fight my fears
for me

**********

summer

sprinklers spray broken lines onto
ponderosa avenue

idaho hot lava sunset oozes over the mountains
painting rainbows on the atmosphere

we breathe in the minty smell of dusk
as it whirls around the aging moon

and polaris gazes down from his pole,
wishing on passing clouds

**********

the causeway empties at 3 am
seagull murmurings stir the saltwater air
a wayward breeze ruffles through your hair
you smile, and I melt into the ocean

**********

lullaby

we were children once
in love with sand, spray, and each other's eyes
we breathed in the colors of our secret bay
running through the waves, our footprints unable to catch up to us

the sea stars shone in a bottomless sky
seagulls worshiped a setting sun
we washed the sand off our feet and fell asleep in our pearly oyster beds
in the distance, a guitar sang a lullaby to the boardwalk

**********

at first I closed my open book
to guard me from your guardedness
and until now, I never thought
there'd be anything more than that

but now you lift your title page
and I hold in my lonely breath

to catch a glimpse of the one inside
the colorful paper binding

**********

horizon

yesterday I was a little girl
the crickets sang me to sleep
and all was right in the world

but today I have become ageless
and must take my place among sunsets and stars

--Andrea Minert, 2011