G

In a turn of waves I found myself on this shore. The horizon a faltering, distant thing. The orange dusk a faded relic of brother times.

Stretched out before me were blots of iridescent light hovering over dark waters. It brought to mind an alien invasion or another otherworldly horror. The kind you witness without voice, for reason departs in the face of abstract terror.

It didn’t feel real, nor does it now. You could tell me all that time was a dream and that I never left.

I walked under a light drizzle tonight as the clouds merged overhead in a rumpled configuration. I snapped a photo of cherry blossoms illuminated by the streetlight as Huckleberry tugged on the leash.

I thought of an orange dawn and the creative spirit. Of cowardice and love. I thought of half a thousand things as I walked down rain soaked pavement with the houses full either side of the street, but sidewalks bare.

I thought of old photos with departed friends and the nature of aging.

I thought of the pause before impact and the outsized power of small words.

I thought of driving home at three thirty in the morning and the navigation of morals and schedule. The belated wail of fire trucks and stepping onto the balcony to look at nothing much at all.

I thought of you and how the sun dips before you reply.

So I thought again of cherry blossoms and nothing much but everything at all.