Stillness and Light

the hush of the morning before the house awakens

early sunlight dances through the window pane

coming to rest on the worn table

the crunch of snow underfoot

keeping time with the beating of your heart

soft grey clouds with a halo of pale golden light in the cold winter sky

from somewhere within the denseness of the pines a blue jay calls

stillness and light

the smell of wood smoke

inhaling deeply

eyes shut

memories stir

somewhere the fire crackles, beckons with its warmth

flames that dance, licking over the logs, hues of heat

stillness and light

at the edge of your heart there is an aching,

a longing

an emptiness never filled

a remembering of something from another time, another place

where you were once 

stillness and light