How to Remember Loss
Slip gaily then into the darkest
night and do not tell us about your
latest plight.
Save one for the other sphere,
for the need of humor there is
too important and we remaining
cannot help you with the songs,
the dances, the imagined and
remembered romances at which
you hinted in the powder room,
my dear.
Each closet and each safe
enclosure holds its secrets
bonded in selected trust.
Selected trust.
Honest parlance has its
boundaries and even though
we smile at one another or
even touch our toes together
on those cold nights
we cannot lay claim to
jewel-boxes held aside for
another day to arrive in its
own time and measure.
Treasure so often lies buried
beneath all sorts of clandestinely
placed concealments. Thusly,
people keep their hearts intact.
Then a woman or a man slips
by us without a sigh and we
spend too much time trying
to find the map, the key, then
we realize that we are mistaken.
The path to death is clearly
marked. Why on earth would
we seek another?
Well, child I will tell you a story
so that you may go to sleep, and
soundly. You followed your trail
leaving most the sweet scent of
your breath behind.
Seeking you was easy.
Finding you was something that
will have to wait for the thaw
which always comes in Spring.
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