Yes, I’m actually a posting a poem—not my forte, I know—but I felt pretty strongly about this one.

 

What began with folds of orange soft
Reflecting back from shining eyes
Through raucous night ‘til held aloft
Deft hands and minds undoing ties

Ace found hidden underground
Before red silk and leather black
“Another, yes, just one more round
Then to home, but we’ll be back.”

Autumn night, renewing function
Brother, beer, and blaze in uproar
Rekindles warmth, sparks reunion
Lasts an hour and makes us want more

Cold diamonds fall, strewn on ground outside
While rush of heat and dancing glares
Swirls through, amidst wild arms to ride
Whistling wind between twined stares

Led, peacefully, into calm winter days
Often book at hand and laughter in heart
Seeing then the manifold ways
She puts joy in life, she creates her art

Through balmy noons and breezy sunsets
Below mountains and on west coast beaches
Tracings in the sand betraying bets
Not sure, either one, but still it reaches

At end of era, new chances spring
One step down but two strides ahead
Seeing what the clear-faced truth could bring
Furnace warmth, or cold loss and dead

Across state lines and tables full
Fingers grip and legs fall, so true
Dancing sweet, with cards and music
Final connection—moon shining through

Starry nights remembered with silver tint
Strewn with crystal, clanks, and cleaving
Too busy with living to ever take the hint
Never knowing that it all was leaving