Fantasia
The night curled between us
when we weren’t looking,
as we sat in camp chairs,
the smoke from our fire unfurling,
carrying sparks into the
slice of space that was ours.
Your sheltering hand on mine,
a glass of merlot in the other;
supernovas implode, shattering
the surly storms between us,
into this moment when the quiet,
pines, in their ease, are grasping,
pulling down the
stars, occasionally tearing
one down from the heavens.
If this is all we have,
it is enough.
Our love burning,
rising, engulfing the birches,
papery leaves and smoke aloft.
In our poor tent,
love has fallen like fine ash.
Love on our brows,
love on our bedeviling clothes,
love on our seeking hands,
love in our boots.
The night curled between us
when we weren’t looking,
as we sat in camp chairs,
the smoke from our fire unfurling,
carrying sparks into the
slice of space that was ours.
Your sheltering hand on mine,
a glass of merlot in the other;
supernovas implode, shattering
the surly storms between us,
into this moment when the quiet,
pines, in their ease, are grasping,
pulling down the
stars, occasionally tearing
one down from the heavens.
If this is all we have,
it is enough.
Our love burning,
rising, engulfing the birches,
papery leaves and smoke aloft.
In our poor tent,
love has fallen like fine ash.
Love on our brows,
love on our bedeviling clothes,
love on our seeking hands,
love in our boots.
Melissa A. Chappell is an author living in rural South Carolina on land that has been in her family for over 130 years. She contendedly writes, reads, walks in the woods, and plays several musical instruments, including the lute. She has a BA in the Theory of Music and a Master of Divinity degree. She shares her life with her family and two miniature schnauzers. She has authored two chapbooks, Rivers and Relics (Desert Willow Press, 2018) and Light, Refracted (Finishing Line Press, 2019). She was nominated for a Pushcart Prize for the year 2019.