Elemental

The sun drips into the lake and I lean back into my elbows, feeling the give of the damp earth, sinking just a little. The sharp tips of the grass tickle at my back, begging me to lay down.

One by one, evening stars adorn the view. Tiny flecks of perfect light against a sky of a million hues, playing hide and seek in the trees towering over us.

The oranges and reds compete for regard, as though they won’t do as they have always done, and quietly give way as indigo threatens.

We drink in the weightlessness of the incoming dark.

A new wind rolls off the water. Cooler now, but still lingers a memory of the warmth of the day. As I reach for a sweater, the loons begin to cry out over the quiet rush of the waves.

Almost night. Shadows fall away from their daylight chains, and the water, hypnotic with moonlight, clumsily laps at the shore, before it too would rest.

We scatter the stillness of the night with laughter and wine. And you lay your head in my lap and we watch the sky explode into diamonds. And we stay.

And we stay. Until the chill breathes into our bones.

Wresting our earthly roots, we bid the stars and thank them for their humble spectacular. I can hear the crunch of old life beneath our feet as we collect sticks and moments.

The air is patient while you give thought to your task, and waits for you still. Delicate and intentional, the air and you. And a fire is born and borne.

Small flames crawl away from the source, hissing and cackling in delight as they leap into the air, fleeting our eyes as quickly as they landed.

And grow to a tower of haze and whirls.

Wafting cedar chases though the fibers of our clothes, and the pulse of the embers swells to our rhythm, finding the outline of your face in their rusty glow.

And the day has gone, and the night rests heavy, and the glass lake mirrors the trees lining its dark shore. One dying flame makes its case and leaves us to us.

In a chair built for two, my head falls into the familiar curve where your shoulder meets your chest. And I fit into you.

And they shall all conspire in this dance forever.

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