Merge--By Cristine A. Gruber--United States

Merge

There’s comfort in the key moments of each day:

The wind rattling the windows,
the alarm beginning to sound,
the location of one’s clothes,
the placement of one’s boots,
the constancy of one’s meals,
the creak of a closet door,
and the presence of life’s
most precious memories
being touched by the current of time.

There’s relief in routine,
safety in consistency,
sufficiency in the familiar,
warmth in knowing what to expect.

And peace in knowing
that certain things will never change,
serenity in accepting the things that do.

The past, forever
touching the present,
prepares us for the future.

Cristine A. Gruber, a Southern California native, is a registered caregiver as well as a widely-published poet. Her work has been featured in numerous magazines, including: North American Review, Writer’s Digest, California Quarterly, The Homestead Review, Iodine Poetry Journal, The Penwood Review, The Poet’s Haven, Red River Review, The Tule Review, Wilderness House Literary Review, and The Write Place at the Write Time. Her first full-length collection of poetry, Lifeline, is available from Amazon.com. More of Cristine's work can be found at http://sierraviewjournal.blogspot.com/.