“Measure your life,” the wise man said,
not by the number of breaths you breathe,
but by the number of moments
that take your breath away.”
This one, for instance, where I sit
in my warm loft remembering
how the air smelled, how the colors
were so intense they seemed unreal,
how the huge oncoming storm
spread its powerful front across
the whole horizon. This moment,
where I am sheltered and warm
and treasuring the memory of that
January day when the scene, indeed,
took my breath away.