Thriving succulents populate the gap
between your yard and my yearning.

Plump, bronzed leaves fill the space –
layered rosettes of longing and ardent prayers.

Tiny flowers rise up, pale pink petals born aloft
by casual fence-line encounters.

New buds appear, growing rampantly –
my hopes for the future.

Hands brush withered leaves away.
Catching sight of you

I cast my fears aside
and call out your name.

###

Patricia Wentzel is an emerging poet from Sacramento, CA. Her poetry spans the breadth of human experience, from the dark to the rapturous. She often writes about mental illness and the impact Bipolar Disorder has had on her life. Her work has been seen in Brevities, the Light Ekphrastic, Petite Hound Press, Poetry Now, Medusa’s Kitchen and other publications. She is especially pleased to have two poems forthcoming in the Journal of the American Medical Association.