The Hearth

Our coupling feels like

a soft faded pair of jeans

a favorite Beatles song

a cup of soup on a cold day

a fire in the hearth

keeping the room warm

Why should I settle for this

when I could wear a flowing new wardrobe

hear brand new songs

taste exotic flavors

feel the blazing wildfire of new passion

burning beyond the restrictive bounds

of this rational little world of ours

But how long would it take the wildfire

to burn out and fade away into smoke

leaving spindly seedlings trying to poke up

through the ashes of the bare forest floor

which had been thick and green

for such a long time

I remember we were a wildfire once

before the snoring, burping,

clothes-on-the-floor,

dishes-in-the-sink,

toilet-seat-left-up

familiarity took over

I think I’ll throw some new logs on the fire

to keep the hearth burning bright

Then we’ll sit back in twin recliners

hold hands

sip hot tea

watch an old movie and laugh

I haven’t settled

I've settled in

FIRST PLACE WINNER


Kelly Athena Richards

Kelly Athena Richards is a writer, artist, photographer, and musician who has made her home in Arizona since 1986. She has overcome bouts with cancer and IBS. She holds Master's degrees in music and photography. Here is another award-winning relationship poem: Evening Therapy by Kelly Athena Richards We exchange sharp words cactus thorns pricking each other as we often do by jumping to conclusions and not hearing each other through You mumble you’re sorry step out to the porch, closing the screen door slowly Outside you hear the crickets chirp in loud chorus, smell the new-cut grass you mowed just before sunset, and see the waxing moon now filled half-way with light Your garden that is so familiar to you is hidden like a stranger under the blanket of night but your eyes adjust and you see something glowing white as a ghost bright as sunlight flashing in the corner of your eye Tiny glowing spheres adorn the branches Night has opened the jasmine blossoms They seem to dance in their white petal skirts I think they have come out to flirt with their twin-shaped souls, the stars, that gaze down on them from not too far Their thick, sweet perfume fills the air Your heart blossoms open as they cast their spell You pick a few and bring them to my room where I lay bathing to clear my head before I slip under the covers and retreat to bed You lay them in the water where they float like constellations swirling in a liquid sky They kiss my toes (like you do sometimes) They squeeze between those scorched red angry thoughts that count up rights and wrongs and who’s ahead They’ve no thorns like the rose, they’re simple and soft They tease out my smile with their delicious scent My tight places start to dissolve In their presence I evolve to their innocent level Your eyes catch mine in a hopeful tentative gaze I breathe you in and reach for your sweet calloused hand, touch the gold band I exchanged with you long ago, turn it in place, prickly words erased from my mind I don’t need to be right in every conversation We’re not competitors but minglers of heart and soul I squeeze your hand and feel the familiar curve of our love encircling our hearts drawing us back inside its safe edges You hold out a big, soft towel and wait for me I step back into our sacred path and leave the jasmine floating in the bath