Upstate can be as cold

as it is beautiful.

10 degrees on a March morning;

The winter sun peeks

over the mountains

I’m told there are those

who have been here,

and those who come here.

Then there are 

those who embrace both;

Over breakfast, on long walks.

Our conversations cover lots of ground.

You built a feeding station for the ducks

and a rack in the garage

for my fishing rods and boots.

You just offered.

I would never have asked.

I miss you.

April 27, 2022

A parade of aches, pains and conditions.

Our lives are conditioned on these conditions.

Can’t live without them;

So we learn to live with them.

Going through a door

as others have before.

Learning to navigate

what doctors are for.

One says don’t lift

heavy objects.

Never liked to do it,

but humiliation tempts 

me to pursue it.

What’s normal

and predictable

can be lonely 

and despicable.

If we let it.

April 12, 2022