Love

She is earth and sky to me,
 this woman, this wonder.
 I have seen her walk barefoot
 through summer's sweetest grass
 and find a dozen four-leaf clovers--
 as if joy could just be plucked
 by anyone.
 Or I have watched her
 on a rock-strewn beach,
 smile at the circling gulls,
 then bend down to clutch
 a heart-shaped stone
 that was waiting all along
 for only her to find.
 It will go into her cache of hearts--
 and may be given later
 to one who needs a heart to hold.
 She is earth and sky to me,
 this woman, this wonder,
 who sees that in every rock,
 in every blade of grass,
 in every furred or feathered thing,
 in us, too,
 there is the shape of love.


--Timothy Haut, Feb. 14, 2016