#16. No Clouds Today

After a week of gray weather,
the sky's so blue it hurts her eyes.

A tender breeze swirls the leaves 

on the cottonwood on the corner,

a muted yellow buzz comes from 

a lawnmower across the street,

birds are singing their symphonies.

She wants to hold onto this moment,

keep it for when she's forced to end her days

in some tiny room with no view

and no birdsong. It's only a matter of time.

She won't be able to manage 

the stairs here much longer.

And she wonders, can she take it all in,

can she look hard enough, so she'll never forget.