Heeding the Departed

Heeding the Departed Written and Illustrated by John Paul Amaral

Hidden in the heart, veins snake and shiver. Her gloved hands pat the rifting gorge Tan slippers root in the ground, tossed leaves forge. She hunches low, a motherly giver.

Nodding off near the mountain downy stream Wishing for tender hands to kindly clasp. Still, her crimson fingers unsheath to grasp The broken glass and dark emerald gleam.

Yearly, she tests with unsheathed amber palms. Hummingbird sweetly kisses her jeweled hand Cheering her with tales from the hinterland, Sometimes flutter friends, but oftentimes qualms.

Yearly, he tells her of his winter trips. In kind, she pets him with her finger tips.