Keuka

The crackling scent of the fire and its smoky glow

Warm my conscious skin.

You sit by me. Sonorous stars

Gaze at the lake,

Our lake, which opens us,

Site of wedding and love and friendship

And ashes,

If I someday get my wish.

Better to sleep with the trout

Than rot stately beneath bitter marble.

Warm beneath the ice; cool beneath the sun.

Balanced. Absorbed.

Wind waxes chill on uncovered

Souls, fire or no fire,

And sleep summons us.

Water quenches embers,

Swallows ash and will again.

But not tonight, my love.