This will not be lost
(phrases snatched
like images from dreams,
nothing predetermined
nor tallied, after the fact)

This doesn’t need to be a riddle –
it can be the sweet way you find yourself
after a full day – weathered,
suffused with heat,
dry after the day’s cold wind,
feeling the strong contrast of the indoors,
thin but solid shell against the roving night

You find yourself within,
at peace, clean, ready for sleep,
willing to let fears and worries go,
learning to trust what holds you safe.

©Wendy Mulhern
January 23, 2023