Bits of Crystal Memories

Jane, the same lilacs that bloomed
in our childhood unfold outside this quiet room
as I recall our youth in all its seaside splendor

climbing rocks along New England's coastline
snitching raspberries from Nellie Paisley's

a beautiful collage of memories
caught within rickrack borders of my mind.

I miss Portsmouth
the whole of my history begins there
whispered in genealogies of quaint villages
it has patterned me into who I am

sensitive, discerning
carefully weighing things out
sad that so much space has slept between us.

In my journal I write dreams
of running from rock to sand with you
the soft syllables of waves rocking us to sleep

bits of crystal memories now wrapped in tissue paper carefully kept
inside a lavender lithograph of my life.