Take bread
and dogs
my dears,
just for a moment
in these hard times.

Take bread
and coffee decorated with a milky heart.
Take a fountain
water sliding over a tall earthen vase.

Leave loud voices
cemented with certainty.

Take this moment
this wide, well-worn wooden table
the fan humming overhead
open door
to sunlit patio
where young people sit
eating croissants and vegan muffins
under a gingko tree.

Take bread
and art on the ceiling
of parrots and sweet round-eyed faces
in pinks and greens and yellows.

Take bread, dear ones,
take heart.