Remembering You

I remember you
As the power of my bones diminishes
Like tide receding from the shore:

But when I do remember you, I make a wish,
A wish that defies definition;
When I think of you, it’s as someone other than one inside me,
A thought unimaginable—
The folly of it is in the immediacy of its cravings,
Cravings that look for points of reference
That are not there.

I asked you then how would you know
That life is sliding out of you—
You saw innocence in the eyes not begging for a riposte—
Then you said, “You know it’s time to embark
When you no longer hear the music of the lark.”
Then you hugged me: What I needed most: That.

I remember you
As the shadow of the dark hills no longer hovers in the east,
And the fading ember that was you becomes me,
Though I have wished never to be you, no, not yet—
Some warriors aren’t ready to put their swords down:
Mama, let the world wait.



December 1, 2006, 9:01 a.m.
Rev. December 6, 2006, 6:06 a.m.