I Have Measured Out My Life With Coffee Spoons

[villanelle]

A breakfast of coffee and sugar, alone.
Her large house is so empty this year.
The creek gurgles, softly, over the stones.

She painted the house the color of bone
and left out birdseed for the deer.
A breakfast of coffee and sugar, alone.

She does not care how tall the grass has grown;
she puts old pearl earrings in her ears.
Still, the creek gurgles, softly, over the stones.

She has been here on her own
for a while. She has seen the geese disappear.
A breakfast of coffee and sugar, alone.

It has been a long time since a party was thrown,
but she remembers them dancing under the chandelier.
The creek gurgles, softly, over the stones.
A breakfast of coffee and sugar, alone.