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This week we have another poignant segment of poetry from local writer Julie Harvey. In this poem she Waxes poetic about a chance meeting at a local Supermarket here in Estes Park.

life’s s’mores

the 90-year-old woman

(looking and acting 60)

in the estes park country supermarket

told me what my mother lived

and what romance books preached:

you have to do what the guy wants,

to stay married.

her heart had been in estes park;

his, in aspen,

where they met and fell in love,

locating there after a short stint

in south dakota.

now, here she was, alone,

in the cleaning aisle

in the country store in estes park,

staying at the y camp,

because she didn’t want

to die without having done so.

she grinned, remembering

her many mountaineering years.

we laughed, aisle friends.

you’d have to think,

who could ask

for life’s so much mores?

s’mores smiles.

i invited her to visit me,

but she had too many dates

on her calendar. miles.

i hope i see her again —

she gave me good advice

on a cleaning product,

and i need help

with a scrubby-dubber,

s’mores, and hanging on to a man.

and life’s s’mores.

and thank you, mom,

from wherever skies,

you always wore

the best disguise.

i’ll have to choose to

tell this out-of-towner

just how wonder-wise

you always were

(more now, than ever).

she’d smile with her eyes:

until you lose, it’s never sure

how much you needed

that last s’more.

so, if we’re only

passing though,

remember this always:

i love you.

you never know what

you’ll bring home

from the store,

even with a list.

sometimes, some less,

sometimes s’more.

i suppose you could say

that is true of everything —

who knows what you’ve missed,

and exactly what you’re bringing home

from your cart.

make sure it’s the best,

aisle 7, close to heaven.

s’more on the way.

it lights the campfire

of the heart.

the simply mundane

is often miraculous.

going to the store

and getting a recipe

for the sudden s’mores

of life. and not having strife.

About the poet:

Juley Harvey is a former journalist (California and Colorado) and a prize-winning poet —— TulipTree Review’s Wild Women, Thompson Peak (Janesville, CA) animal stories, Tilting to Listen; Wolf Warriors; Celebrating Animal Rescue; Dancing Poetry; and TallGrass Writers black-and-white series. Her work has appeared in more than 45 publications, beginning with Cosmopolitan. She is currently trying to conquer short stories and novels, along with poetry. She lives at the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park with her loving animal rescue companions, Ms. Moosie and Mr. Pye, and is in the wonderful Estes Park Writers Group, led by Kevin Wolf and sometimes by Jason Van Tatenhove.

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