I like the way a day like this
settles around you,
pulls a comforting shroud of gray
up close
but not too close,

holding back the long endless seams
of trees and ditches
stretching out like a past you can’t forget
and a future you’re not ready to face,

leaving view enough
for what’s coming up close
so that you know
there’s enough open road for passing
but not so much
that you wonder whether or not
you’ve got fuel enough for the journey.

I like the feel of mist kissing my face
like a gentle lover
wanting not to smother me
under some self-absorbed lather of emotion
but reminding me that she is close,

a subtle whisper suggesting promise
of warmer rains to come,
a soothing start for spring’s good planting,
the greening of these gray hills
fading into the fog
as gently as God’s own grace
easing the aching heart,
soothing the scorching touch of ancient memories.

H. Arnett
4/7/14