Laughter, a tumbleweed
in the wind, and time topples on,
 
ripens and spoils like forgotten blackberries
left in a bowl too long.
 
After many a year, I can no longer recall
the last time we hugged,
 
your gold and grey braids
sweeping through my hands.
 
We meet again,
Our collection of plans
colliding in the lap of nostalgia.
 
We go back many years, surviving
parents, earthquakes, volcanoes, pandemics,
and the toughest test–
 
those shattered hearts,
remnants carried
in the linted pocket of memory.
 
When we meet again,
in this sprawl of angels
we will do what we know best–
 
stroll among the familiar
jacarandas and birds of paradise
flowers tattooed to our past. 
 
We will look for a bakery with a shaded table
and face each other, cups in hand,
sipping the sweets we still share.

 

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Laurie Kuntz, a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net Nominee. In 2024, she won a Pushcart Prize. She published seven poetry books. Her latest chapbook, Balance, is published by Moonstone Arts. Her 8th full-length book, Shelter In Place, is published by Shanti Arts Press.
https://lauriekuntz.myportfolio.com/home-1