Philip Byrne

Kimono       

You never had ‘come-hither’ heels, 
more inclined to wear oversized-tees, 
formless sweaters, minimal make-up, 

reluctant as you were to spend on yourself,
moving through the world
tending to the bloom of others.

But on those nights, the children at ease in sleep, 
when your kimono slipped off a bare
shoulder, breast curving under a camisole

as you blew the steam of the hot tea cupped
in your hands, legs folded under you
on the sofa exposing a thigh, I knew 

the day quieted—your calm breath, warm.

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Philip Byrne is a retired teacher living in Westchester, New York. He was a poetry editor for Inkwell during the aughts. Recent poems are in The Westchester Review, The Ekphrastic Review, and 3Elements Review. Love, loss and place feature prominently in his poetry. Memory is both sustenance and joy as he connects the quotidian and the universal.