Love in the latter part of life,
Is more than a sudden squall
On calm September seas
That rises and abates.
It is an unexpected gift
Like the smile of a young girl
To a stranger.

Or a childhood portrait
In black and white
Abruptly bursting into color.

Or a crystal
Dug from the dark, stony soil
Of a mountain slope,
Brushed off
And held up to the sun,
The intrinsic beauty
Of its pure geometry
Perfectly revealed.

So the facets of our
Late-blooming love
Catch oh so briefly
The brilliant light
Of the waning afternoon

(originally published in the South Townsville Micropoetry Journal in Australia)