we will remember this winter

severe cold and blessings
of shelter and warmth

news of friends from other places
and neighbors who died

I remember specific times
the visual memories clear

and the different ways
our lives grew from there

once I was new here

and now whenever
we go somewhere

there are layers
and textures of memories

the present calls me still

Spring arrives as promised
and we shall meet again

Lake Michigan
April 2016
Photo by Karl

Poem by Ellen Grace Olinger