Stolen Riches
By John Herlihy

They now lay in a room illuminated by a fire,
After the unexpected wild ferocity of the storm.
They were back again safe in their own cottage,
Lost in the cold like that, they could have died.
The blizzard did catch them like a wild animal,
Now they had their lives again after the fright.
The blinding blizzard left them lost outside home,
Chilled to the bone, sheets of snow filled the air.
The night lost its blackness in furious whiteness,
The wolf sounds of the night wind howled fear.

The treacherous night now tapped at the window.
They lay in a room illuminated by a fading fire.
Shadows on the wall seemed comforting after all.
As they lay there, they heard each other’s breath.
Each of them feeling alone before feeling together;
Each of them feeling content in each other’s arms.
Life is so precarious, it can disappear in a second;
Life is so precious, it gives moments never reckoned.
From now on, their every moment and every breath,
Stolen riches since the day they stole the life of death.