for my wife on the 2020 terminus

tucked-in necks
pushing against westward
wind, reminders of strength
of nature, our
human foibles
deadly dramas

you have shrouds
rainbow serapes
layers covering so much –
father’s familial dementia
severe religious dogma
a sister’s daily protection
as you held back what
you could for a brother

awakenings at the corona
of upthrusted earth
rising to Pacific
you find a new you
layers peeled away
still the exposure
the tremors of past
colliding into future
but you push through

neck protected
nothing fancy, just
tortoise determination
like giant blue herons
those passing my window
where words
are my talisman

you are there
in the moment
bawdy stories
of long-lost aunts
those funny as hell
tales of making out
in a Pennsylvania cemetery
white girl with
those black guys
the sum total
of your life

reclaiming lost
narratives
those woven sheets
of indigenous
cotton, the colors
of your past
beckoning a new
renewed future
one day
your stories
will bring a chuckle
to us all