Beloved, you've revealed
yourself in reds. I reel
in your ripe exuberance
that ambushes my senses.
When I was becoming
a young man, burgundy
pursued me everywhere
till I wore that wine sweater
all winter like an ensign.
At my middle age you're sun,
next door's rooster, mars, fox,
sweat lodge fires, four o'clocks,
and an Irish linen shirt woven
from cinnabar and vermillion.
Kurt Van Wilt, husband and father, publishes poetry, prose and plays. His book, The Teachings of Joseph Rael, is due from Council Oaks Books later this year. He teaches writing and Native American Literature at Saint Leo University.
This article appears in Feb 14-20, 2007.