North

Wish you were... 

allusions

there is always hope because
there is always love

an eagle casts a desperate eye
no less fierce in its desperation

when a child of poverty waits for
Christmas morning

a person remains seated to enjoy a bite to eat
after being stood-up by a date

when a fighter demonstrates her unconquerable spirit by
sincerely congratulating her winning opponent

the most brilliant sun cannot turn away
a longing eye

solitude is the mother of verse

Ray

To Ray
Two years ago today
Memories replay
While bodies pass away
All subject to decay
Yet in my heart you stay
That's all there is to say

It does not wither

   "It's passing," I hear her say. "It's going by too quickly.  I've just started to really live." I look out the window at an ice covered field.  A yellow ladder leans against an old building. Beneath it blades of grass stick up through the snow, dark green against dazzling white.  I wait for her to continue.  I've got as long as she needs.
   "Most of my life I've lived how other people want me to live.  I went to the right church, married the right guy, raised my kids the right way.. I believed it.  It was just how things were supposed to be.  I even judged others who didn't live like that."
   When I turn from the window she's shaking.  She's still wearing my shirt, unbuttoned, her breasts pale against the light blue fabric.  I wonder if she'll always reassess her life like this after our time together.  It doesn't really matter I decide.  She's right.  It's passing.  It's all passing.
   I return my gaze to the grass beneath the ladder.  It's so green.