By Marilyn Michener DiPaolo
Photography by Andrew Flack
I need to say good bye to you
Your glittering sunrises and still afternoons
Your dense fragrant evenings on the back porch swing
The way the air smelled right before the storm
The nights I cried into your mask of bliss and wonder
The early morning light above the trees
Your relentless mid day heat
And cloud bursts of rain and electric fury
The tangle of breezes amid the green leaves
The colors of the zinnias in pots of dark soil
The smell of the earth in my hands
The feel of cool sand under my toes
Sweet corn and ripe tomatoes
Sun drenched meadows and dewy leaves of grass
Barefoot gardening beside bird baths spilling
Robins waiting
Cicadas singing
Fluttering wings of surprise
And pale blue egg shells on the wooden step
The moon that whispered hello
Now turns sleepily away
Sea swells aglow of her light
Bless the earth with tidal treasures
The nests are now vacant
The birds murmur farewell in shadows of grace
As the azure sky is left to wonder
When will you return
Sleep now and rest
The earth whispered
Tomorrow is one day closer
To summers dream
