her muted smile

evening sun, the wild grass
a gabled house, the weathercock turning

a picket fence, a fieldstone entry
boots on the doormat, a butcher's gait

his leather pouch, coins in his pocket
her muted smile, a warm embrace

a dark oak table, an amber bottle
a cut-glass tumbler, the tinkling of ice

logs on the fire grate, an odor of bread
fresh-cut daisies, her tenuous hands

a woman's portrait, her deep set eyes
a plate glass window, the brilliant sky