If We Want To Dwell in the Grace of Love,
We Must Tempt It To Leave

by Laurie Kuntz


Temptation made me dream  
you had left me, and instead of freedom
that I think about in true time,
there was a smirk on the face of loneliness.

In that dream I walked back
to where we first loved.
The room empty and the air stale.

It could have been anywhere
but it was not.
I could have been anywhere,
but I was not.
 
I was in a dream
and the temptation to yell out your name
in my dark spiraling sleep
was real, and I woke.


* * * * *

Laurie Kuntz is a widely published and an award winning poet. She’s been nominated for a Pushcart and Best of the Net prize. She’s published two poetry collections (The Moon Over My Mother’s House, Finishing Line Press, Somewhere in the Telling, Mellen Press), and two chapbooks (Simple Gestures, Texas Review, Women at the Onsen, Blue Light Press). Her new chapbook, Talking Me off the Roof, is forthcoming from Kelsay Press in 2022. Recently retired, she lives in an endless summer state of mind. Visit her at:
https://lauriekuntz.myportfolio.com › home-1