Long Months, Short Years

eighteen long months late,
we celebrate our friendship
of thirty short years

she survived COVID
now, we're both vaccinated
to celebrate love

what a perfect place
green grounds, infinity pool
for endless friendship

Flatiron Fresh

summer days beckon
drinks on rooftop patios
(mocktails for the kids)

the cold creek calls us
with shade, icy refreshment
from the sun’s harsh heat

and these cousins bond
under summer vacation 
(our home is their heart)

an eight-mile walk
through Colorado’s beauty
even before blooms

what you don’t see here:
picking rhubarb in the rain
for salvation pie

eighteen years finished 
with this mask that hides us all 
from society

the plants are rising
as the school year closes down
(garden life cycle)

graduation day
bleeds into normal doldrums
(life's quick, painful truths)

we'll never escape
the "boot straps" mentality
or fix these numbers

from prom to vaccine
in a short eight-hour night
(let science save us)

vaccines could save us
(yet not from the ignorance
spread without needles)