Like starting to miss

a loved one

who’s leaving for a week

with family or on vacation

before they have even left

I feel a lack and a longing

as I drive home from work

up into the mountains

through the blooming woods

I see the trees standing so perfect andsculpted and still

I smell the pollen

and the bluebells

and I smell the smoke

before the fire even starts

I know it will come

and I get flashes of flames

but I try to swallow the feeling

and I sink into the summer hum

of motorcycles and cardinals

and breathe in the air

that is not yet choked

Alexander Shalom Joseph is a writer from Gilpin County. He has two published books and one more forthcoming in the Fall of 2022. For more information and to subscribe to Alexander’s Newsletter go to alexandershalomjoseph.com