All I Need

All I need is a Trappist cell –
bare walls and a few furnishings
not worth mentioning, except
for the little hickory table I bought
from an Amish carpenter,

and a TV to watch Downton Abbey –
a world of baroque chandeliers
and staircases of flowing marble
and fancy dinner invitations.

There’s a window that faces
a small garden between the buildings
with a few barely sprouting trees.
Soon will come spring with its riot
of blossoms and birds.

Today all I need is that window
to spring – an invitation to patience –
to be empty before sweetness fills me
like wine fills a jeweled chalice.

By Lisa Lindsey