the perfect weather

by Wheeler Light

The weather outside is your heart. 

The weather inside is your heart also 

but the weather outside is more of your heart. 

Inside is more like an echo like your pulse 

is a call and response. It’s like the weather. 

The tide goes out. It comes back every time. 

The good times go away. You could lose your job. 

You could lose your heart, your little sweet 

marching drum. Honey, there is enough time. 

I love you I love you. Cold and muted. Simple  

mirror. The weather outside is just atmosphere  

You know what the good times are like. 

They’re like summer but without the 

sweating. These days, you’re just waiting for the first snow, 

for that opportunity to dip your toes into the sky. 

I promise the good times come back 

but not before the bad times go away. 

Well sometimes at the same time, 

like snow melting while it falls and pooling 

at the edge of the sidewalk and when you 

walk over it, there it is, your reflection. 

Always there like the weather. It’s just the weather. 

Just something to talk about it. Isn’t it amazing?

Wheeler Light is an MFA candidate at the University of Virginia. His poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Rattle, Spit Poet Zine, and Pretty Owl Poetry, among other publications. You can find his work at www.wheelerlight.net.