Sometimes words are overrated,
sometimes what’s needed
is a closer contact,
the lock of what’s present
between you and me,
side stepping the demand
for coordination
or negotiation

And maybe it’s not time
to be searching for words
as evening settles in steady
and an affectionate cat
pushes and purrs against my lap
while the creek murmurs
and the smell of dinner
wafts from a neighbor’s house

These trees will move in silence
towards darkness,
These cats want to be fed.
Whatever words I may have now
will fall unspoken,
but what’s essential will still be said.

©Wendy Mulhern
May 28, 2016