Bare Feet, Wet Earth, Hot Tea

NaPoWriMo 2025, Day 20

Ya no está ザーザー降っている dehors,
But instead the rain is soft and gentle.

The wooden deck is cool and wet
Before I step off onto the stone path
Avoiding bits of gravel here and there
And then onto the damp grass
Toward the rich green lemon balm
Growing next to the shed at the back.

I pick a generous handful of leaves
And raise them to my nose,
Imagining the cozy comfort they’ll bring
When I steep them shortly with lavender
To sip from an oversize Powell’s Books mug
As I write a poem as a benediction to the weekend,
Or an incantatory invocation for the week ahead.