A flicker in the dark

My life was off to a rocky start when I met him. These days it feels like I'd just gotten out of bed from a 15 year hang over. No effervescent numbing liquid or chlorophyll trips with Mary J; no I was too young for that. Now I reflect upon myself with a grim stature ready to either fling a fist enervated by stifled frustration or flee in a graceful silence outshined by the heavy clops of feet receding along the ground. I'm cold, not because of people, but because it's autumn. Hibernation is settling in and there won't be any need for excuses to cancel plans. It's going to snow and only get colder from here on throughout the month. However, it's in these dark and cold moments that we hope we can turn to a warmth in the night. A flicker in the dark; we don't have to talk, just buoy in the ebb of a soft presence. A glow not stifled but intensified to the point where I couldn't cower nor could I hide. Steam left my face in a reluctant rise as we laughed about the week and gossipped about old acquaintances; howling into the sky while forgetting about our breathe dancing in furls through still crisp air. And just like that it became fire, growing throughout my arms and into my hands; the locket carried more than his memory. It carried love.