Gratitude for the night

I was slurring my words before the wine

And over time, fell into a cadence

Me, you, me, you

This and that is what we are negotiating

This is what you are holding

This is what I am navigating

Gratitude and release

Thank you.

Now I am home

Sinking my bare feet in the grass

The dogs running freely

Swiftly buzzing past me

Reminding me of freedom

No boundaries

Only exhilaration

And pure joy.

Then the ghosts appear

Wine or truth?

Truth in two moonlit dogs and their owner

I start to call and resist

Resist the unnatural pull to control and command

I let it play out

As the ghost dogs pass

Without incident or shame.

And they pass

I notice blinking Christmas lights two houses down

Sporadically hidden by leaves in the trees

Bending to the wind

One big breath of earth before I call “Home”

And the dogs come bounding

Home to it all

With gratitude for the night.