An Ode to Hugs

A mother’s arms,

The first to hold.

A teddy bear,

Chasing away monsters.

A dog on its hind legs,

Paws wet on shoulders.

A heavy blanket,

When outside, thunder roars.

A hunched palm,

Under the midnight sky.

A cup of tea,

With an old confidante.

A lover’s warmth,

Full of promise.

A child on your lap,

Pudgy arms around your neck.

The final embrace,

To the grave.

A Starry Night

Yellow, stashed at the back.

White, forgotten in the sink.

Brown, tossed to the side all year.

Blue, from the bottom of a backpack.

Smooth and cold,

Like the air outside.

Fingers moving to

Kindergarten days.

Filling the crevices between fingers,

Flowing through the lines on my palm,

Sticking to nails like sand,

Snaking up my wrist,

Dotting stars across skin

And canvas,

Swirling like clouds in autumn:

A starry night.

With Love, the Past

From quixotic fantasies

to bleaker reality.

From smooth seashells

to crumbling mosaics.

From coconut clusters on palms

to a carpet of orange leaves.

From sand pouring like an hourglass

to snowflakes settling in twisted locks.

From seeing red

behind closed eyelids,

to opening them to
crashing blue waves.