I am collecting
the gentle buzz of hummingbirds
and big bumble bees resting on fingertips,
dance parties in my living room,
tree swings, heavy rainstorm porch-sitting,
coffee sips well past noon.
Long neighborhood walks
and sweat pools at the base of my spine,
fancy cupcake shop outings,
three pairs of icing stained lips curved into smile.
I am collecting
books, piled high next to my bed,
stories for when I’m awake, again, at 3 AM,
OnBeing podcasts, the one with Naomi Shihab Nye,
words to settle me back to sleep.
Road trips to the prairie, chlorine soaked hair,
lake picnics, light pink shoulders,
the first sip of a cold beer after a long day of work outside,
the piercing, spiky, green, squeaky ball our Annie uses to insist
we must
play now.
I am collecting summer and soon I will collect fall,
moments to keep close, pull back out,
like a poem in a pocket,
for when my heavy heart
needs light.
~KGS