The leaf’s shadow flutters

on the bark while the leaf

remains inches away

tending the sore, tired

trunk like reiki.

 

Heat emerges from the aged

circles deep within the tall tree

standing sentinel in the

desert. The heat touches the

sun’s rays and they play

 

like an invisible Peter Pan

and Tinker Bell in the sky.

From the long, cold winter,

the visitor is finally away,

but he hasn’t come to the

 

desert to play. He reclines

by the pool fully dressed in

black down to his wingtips.

Through his shirt and pants

and shoes, the sun descends

 

and silently caresses his cold

winter blood and bones. He

looks up at the fluttering shad-

ow and feels the zephyr breeze

on his cheek as he slips off to

 

sleep. The heat from deep with-

in the skin rises to meet the sun’s rays

and they play like an invisible

Peter Pan and Tinker Bell.

A chime sounds from a balcony

 

in the desert on a quiet Sunday

afternoon.