1.14.15 For L.C. I Go To My Sister's House

I go to my sister’s house
for her smile, her dried flowers; for her
lovingcare all about her cottage

I find at my sister’s house the wisdom
that her paintings deserve fine frames
that her beloved vases and dishes and
tender things deserve places of honor
that her days deserve the beauty of
colors and things coming to life
in the midst of freezing winter
For she brings all to life, and love
and all about her is growing and healing

I go to my sister’s house and she offers
warm tea in sweet old teacups; velveteen
perches and sunlit walls, where the
crimson of the Cyclamen blossoms remain
week after week after week, as the
Amaryllis comes forth again and again and the
Azalea branch smiles its delight at a
mid winter’s moment to
green and blossom and shine

I go to my sister’s house to learn how
those of us not loved in essential ways slowly
become those of us who love and nurture ourselves; who
heed the call and strength of the wise woman