I think it is grand the way that a few days

of sunshine and sixties

can so keenly dull the edge of memory

that just two weeks ago

our morning temperature reading

was at minus twenty-one.

It is a nice thing and a good habit to fix

of so quickly letting go

of life’s harshest moments

and cherishing the memories

of friends around a warm fire

on a still evening

with the smoke drifting ever so slightly

while flames weave their way

around the edges of well-seasoned wood.

There is always good for the taking,

the making of good moments,

and the deliberate remembering

of the good life has brought us

while not forgetting the lessons it has taught us.

We ought to be right careful

that in our recollections

we more deliberately rehearse

the better rather than the worse.

H. Arnett

3/4/21