Lighter Nights

or a longer day that spills into night
that spills onto tables and out of mouths
through noses and loud laughs

less darkness more madness

or a time frame that is reckless
and loose
and unquestioning and fun and hurts sometimes

like if you don't stop soon enough

like if you crash

like if you understand that darkness comes eventually

and you must decide whether you are relieved or not.

--
"Colline"
Grape: blend of Grenache, Mourvedre, Carignan, Cinsault, Syrah
Country: France
Region: Loire Valley
Appelation: Châteauneuf du Pape
Producer: La Cabotte
Vintage: 2017
Importer: Beaune Imports

A Transition

the ache of striving to be whole

(crushed & collapsed, instead,

but better for it).

--

"negrik rosso"
Grape: Negrara
Country: Italy
Region: Povo, Trento
Producer: Matteo Furlani
Vintage: 2017

The Only Thing
It's with those first few steps in the bakery
that you feel the chalky dust settle in your hair,
your arms, eyelashes

that you smell the rising hope of bread

that you hear each hollow echo and notice
the air inside of everything

that you see
there in the center, next to the cash register

the last blood orange tart

gleaming with eggwash and sugar
dense with yolk and milk and citrus
echoing nothing but its own orangeness.

non-negotiable.
you leave your cash on the counter
and walk out
already two bites in

--
Grape: Chenin Blanc, regional varietals (blend)
Country: France
Region: Loire
Appelation: Anjou- Mousseux
Producer: Julien Altaber
Vintage: 2017
Importer: Percy Selections

What The Sea Is Like (Public Beach)

They don't tell you
that it's as dirty as it is purifying.
But you learn and forget about it
anyway -

sun and salt and heat
and crisp wetness

are the antidote for
floral body odor,
lemon wedges and
wobbling parking lots.

--
Grape: Hondarrabi Zuri, Gros Manseng
Country: Spain
Region: Basque
Appellation: Getariako Txakolina
Village: Olaberria
Producer: Bengoetxe
Vintage: 2016
Importer: Farm Wine Imports

Late Morning in August
When I lay in this field I become the grass.
Turning to hay,
I can feel my eyes cook under closed lids,
I can smell hidden clovers turning to honey;
there is no tension in my body,
I barely breathe,
and I am thirsty.

--
"La Dilettante"
Grape: Chenin Blanc
Country: France
Region: Loire
Producer: Catherine Breton
Appelation: Vouvray
Vintage: NV
Importer: Kermit Lynch

Poached

the cold slips up our jackets as we pick cherries
still firm from green-branched trees
hidden under boughs we reach with haste -
scratches up the arm, rotting blossoms under our feet
the fruit tastes better baked but we can't afford to wait

--
"Métisse"
Grape: 40% Carignan, 30% Grenache, 20% Cinsault, 10% Grenache Blanc (co-planted)
Country: France
Region: Languedoc
Producer: Maxime Magnon
Appelation: Corbières
Vintage: 2017
Importer: Kermit Lynch