56

How often do we wake up to crepes 

with fresh berries from our garden

and maple syrup I made 

from the sugar maple out back?

Can the hunger

and homelessness

of my youth be erased

with fresh washed sheets and new towels 

in a brightly painted home that 

according to a letter from my lawyer, 

and the bank 

is finally, really ours

free and clear?

How fortunate we are 

to awaken early

on a quiet morning 

where birdsong is the only sound 

beyond the lace curtains

rippling in the silent breeze

that caresses your skin

bringing a pleasant shiver

on this already too warm morning

as we lay together 

catching our breathes

together

breathing

together

How many cold nights alone,

sleeping in shrubbery to avoid the rain

can be forgotten

in this one warm day

working in the garden

planting English walnut trees 

that will provide nuts for 100 years

and then pausing to pick blackberries

blueberries and rasberries

all planted several years ago 

when we first moved into this place

turning an abandoned house

into a real home

and a business

a bed and breakfast

that welcomes wayfaring travelers 

to sleep deep, safe and warm,

a refuge from the summer thunderstorm

where even hummingbirds

share our breakfasts?

Yes, I need to mow the lawn.

I need to repaint the place 

where we replaced 

a few mouldering boards.

And yes the flower bed needs weeding,

the pond we dug needs cleaning,

and there is always a list of chores 

that I am grateful for

and yet, they will never be done on this day…

my 56th birthday.