“Where There is Light” by Annie Blake

I can’t explain love to a dog.
I come home to a fragmented couch,
to yellowed and shredded upholstery.
I sigh as the dog struts its win,
sofa hanging damp from its jaw.
I groan and let the dog stay.

I can’t explain love to a child.
I sang to my wailing babe whose
snot rained down and knotted my hair.
When she finally yielded to sleep,
her little mind rested and eased,
I followed her into her dreams.

I can’t explain love to myself.
My husband sits in his chair
and the clock marks fifty years.
I see in the mirror what time has revised,
as his hand gently reaches for mine.
I look up and realize he stayed.

Meghan Flinders is a student at Utah Valley University, working on her BA in creative writing and writing studies. She is currently the Managing Editor of Essais, UVU’s student journal for critical literary analysis and literary theory. She is also serving as a prose editor for UVU’s creative writing publication, Touchstones. Meghan married her sweetheart a year ago and will try to explain her love for him for the rest of her life.