Evening settles in
Daylight has dwindled
A bottle of wine,
Sipped while cards shuffled
Sits on the table,
Empty.

Dinner has been cooked,
Served,
And cleaned up
While a thunderstorm shook the ground outside
And lightning streaked across the sky
And rain pummeled the lake outside the windows,
While we talked
And laughed
And ate
And drank.

Only one bottle,
Just one.
That’s all.

Now snugly curled up on the soft leather couch
Wrapped up in his summer robe
To ward off the inevitable chill
Of the ceiling fan’s slow revolutions.

The lights dim
And darkness falls outside.
Inside the comfort of
Familiarity
Is thick in the room
The comfort of knowing
The comfort of trusting
The freedom of loving
Blends with the intimate touch
The quiet voices speaking
Of the ordinary tasks in life
Shared together
Along with the extraordinary
And the sublime.

Words are written,
Never enough.
Words are spoken
More than are needed.
Love wraps around
And moves us to find
That life is worth living
Exceptionally so.

By Deborah E. Dayen