Warmth in Winter
Lay a blanket down and settle against the hill
To take in the blueness of the sky
Open a bottle of wine to celebrate
The fresh scent of pine on the air
Cool and soothing against the cheek
Like the memory of a kiss.
The whisper of a pleasant breeze in the trees is interrupted…
In the distance that lonely freight train from nowhere
passes slowly on its way to anywhere else.
Mournfully calling out, it exists inside a Johnny Cash song,
And knows full well you won’t follow along this time.
Anywhere else is a dream of swirling snow
Where overstuffed coats are pulled tight against near-frozen bodies.
Nowhere is a place you’ve been with tears in your eyes
Tears you shouldn’t be willing to shed
When they turn to droplets of cruel ice on tender skin.
You should smile at the warmth instead
Put your faith in the here and now
Throw rocks in the stream
Touch the warm golden light from the evening sun
And dance with the pleasure of life.
How lush life can be,
How calm it is
Where the green grass beckons
And flowers bloom against the odds
in mid-winter.
A Smile and a Drawl
Charleston, South Carolina has a heartbeat all its own,
Steady and slow,
The sound is St. Michael’s bell that has rung like clockwork
For three-hundred years,
Like an uncracked Liberty Bell
Through two wars, slavery and civil rights,
And always it sings, “sweet freedom” as it tolls the hour
Over cobblestone streets and tourists taking carriage rides.
Couples still do their promenade on the Battery,
First down from their homes and back
on Sundays after mandatory church,
With sea spray splashing on white fancy frocks
and white planters’ suits,
The sound of Palmetto branches rattling
In the sultry breeze,
barely audible between the roaring roll of waves.
Rainbow Row, its softly rainbow colored houses
Turned sideways to the road
Each facing a garden with intricately designed wrought iron gates,
And walls of tabby, oyster shells
peeking out from accidental artistically placed patches.
It’s a matter of pride that only a few blocks away
Porgy met Bess and sang “Summertime” from a porch
less well kept but sideways to the main road.
It’s Charleston, after all.
And there’s always ambiance, a smile and a drawl.
© 2008 C. Harter Amos
