Thanks to my friend and the Great Outdoors
Our church is going on a campout...
Tents with sand tracked in
and river-soaked clothes tossed
over sleeping bags.
A trail of trampled brush
leading to a brilliant fire
bursting with heat and crowded with
rosy-cheeked roasters.
Marshmallows oozing
slowly
down rippled graham crackers,
dripping like sticky rain
onto my shoes.
Chocolate melting,
seeping and blending with the white and
brown, but
for now it's still
rich and deep as your dark eyes
or the night sky,
whichever is closer to perfect.
Wind stinging my face,
smoke in my hair,
dirt crusted under my fingernails
stubbornly refusing to leave.
Which is rather a lot
like you,
I'm beginning to realize.
Days fly by
disappearing quicker than
steaming cocoa on a cozy
winter's eve - but some people
stay.
People like you.
It seems that
you learn new things
when you leave the plastic city behind
and give nature your soul
for a night.
Maybe we should camp
more often.