10 March 2024

Monica at 72


Comes the time to honor
she who I hold most dear,
As we look back on what has been
As strange as any year.
At times we’ve seen what others have
As something more desirous,
Though gladly we’d have done without
the famed coronavirus.

You helped us become owners
Of a stylish get-away
Where others will maintain the grounds,
Postponing our decay.

Ensconced beside a waterfall
Sourced from Mountain Lake
By the century-old resort;
No more to pull the rake.

In an era not so far behind
We might presume such dreams,
But the cloak that veiled us is right now
Unraveling at the seams.

‘Twas the year that we came to accept
Life on our island home
Supposes supply chains that
Won’t outlast the fall of Rome.

Together we bear witness
As more slip the safety net
And we peel away denial
About how bad it’s going to get.

If I had to pick one person
To face this future with,
Whose encouragement and passion
Moves one to fully live,

‘Twould be the she who also
loves digging in the dirt–
when our hands meet to fold a sheet
is still the one to flirt.

Entering this uncertain age
for what are we to strive?
Aren’t those who build community
most likely to survive?

If so I am especially blessed
with this mate to my soul,
the sum of our parts being
ever greater than the whole.

Every moment that I gaze on her
I’m thanking the creator
For the one I’ve loved and grown with
Who might well have been a stranger.