I WON’T KNOCK ON YOUR DOOR

I’ll just watch each morning
as you turn off the front light,
open the blinds 
on the west side windows,
listen for your screen door 
to squeak and then snap shut. 
On cool days the steam 
from your blue mug will wrap 
around the corner of the porch,
a touch of vanilla in the air.
Now there may be room for me 
to step on your flagstones
without crushing the wild violets
you allowed to grow.
May I brush last year’s leaves
off the second patio chair?
Refresh your cup?

Jamie Lynn Heller’s book Buried in the Suburbs was published in 2018 (Woodley Press) and received the 2019 Kansas Notable Book Award. Her chapbook Domesticated: Poetry From Around the House was published in 2015 (Finishing Line Press). She is a Pushcart Prize nominee (Little Balkans Review 2014) and Best of the Net nominee (805 Lit + Art 2016). For a complete list of publications see jamielynnheller.blogspot.com.