Ritual
Gloria Heffernan
It has to be the blue mug,
the one that fits my hand like a chalice.
The coffee runs through the brewer,
and I stir in cinnamon until the aroma
fills the room like incense.
Maxwell trots into the kitchen
to take his place by my side,
the furry acolyte who will lead
the processional into the living room
where ritual resumes
in the predawn silence.
Folding myself into
a corner of the couch
I watch the shadows
take shape over the hill.
The quilt Beth made for me
is draped over the couch,
like an altar cloth I unfold
with the dexterity that comes
from mindful repetition.
The outline of cedars
across the open field emerges
through soft pink light
and the windows melt away.
Listening to the hymn of
my own rhythmic breath,
I watch the sacrament of dawn
breaking over the pines
and drink in the new day.
Gloria Heffernan’s upcoming poetry collection, What the Gratitude List Said to the Bucket List, will be published by New York Quarterly Books in 2019. Her chapbook, Some of Our Parts, was published by Finishing Line Press. In addition, her work has appeared in over fifty journals including Chautauqua Literary Journal, Stone Canoe, Main Street Rag, Columbia Review, Louisville Review, and The Healing Muse. She is an adjunct instructor at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York, and holds a Master’s Degree from New York University.