Three Hundred Miles Away

The night air bit

And the tulip had already closed her petals tight

Around her private parts.

While I waited

For the dogs to do what housedogs must

Before going to bed,

I stopped shuffling,

Tipped up my chin beyond the purple horizon, not

Stopping 'til I saw black.

Closing my eyes

Gently, the raw breeze on my cheeks and tousling

My hair strands,

I thought of you

Behind me slipping your arms through my akimbo limbs

Past my pocketed hands.

I felt you

Warming my thin body against the cold with yours tightly

Wrapping around me.

For a moment, until

A whimper brought me back to ready dogs with sudden

Wind snapping.

Eyes coldly open,

Your arms disappeared. So, upstairs to sleep, leaving the

Fragile tulips behind.

        ~Volpini Amentum Arete Anemone