If I could design my life’s ideal sunset

It would be simple

The birds are singing,

And my porch is squeaking,

From the back and forth of our rocking chairs

My best friend lives in the house next door to me

She bought it when her kids moved out

To be close to me

Finally

After these long 50 years

Today she walked over from her house

Slowly, due to the hip replacement

But still with spirit

To enjoy the afternoon at my place

Hanging out

Laughing, drinking vodka lemonade and watching the lawn sprinklers

The sun is moving in and out of the trees

As we sit here with nowhere to go

And it’s getting dark but

We’ve agreed that we’re going to stay a few hours longer

Without uttering one word about it

Because we speak our own secret language now:

Contentment

Silence,

Peace in doing nothing

Appreciation of the crickets and the birds and the stars and each other

Because every big leap

Big mistake, heartache

Moment in which we thought we would

break

In our long, tumultuous lives

Isn’t a source of anxiety anymore

But comfort

Because it means we’ve lived a life

I’ve spent my life drowning in an ocean of question marks

Aging among them

But after all my turmoil recently

That porch is my fantasy

How nice would it be

To finally embrace the relief

Of aching to be nowhere but

Sipping cocktails

Watching the sunset

In rocking chairs

Embracing nothing

With her