Promises

You and

your things

are gone,

only the few clothes 

I gave you hang 

numbly in place,

a clear message

meant for me, 

I guess.

I could track you

in the fine lines

on my face,

knowing you

never made

promises, 

or I might have 

just dropped

you off,

someplace.

5/14/13

Do You Not

Do you not wonder 

why you're here, 

staring in this 

long-running drama

with no curtain in sight,

your part long ago

learned by heart,

the stage filled 

with so many

who read their lines

but do not 

know the meaning?

Have you not yet

got the point,

saying yes, of course,

to those you love, 

though you really 

can't hear them

on the phone,

why must they

sound so far away?

Do you not still awaken

in the darkness

with a start, 

wondering again,

where you are?

5/12/13

In My Youth

In my youth,

the best girls

could be found

at weddings 

and funerals,

dressed all in black

or in white,

their eyes filled 

with passion and pain,

each one vulnerable,

yet again.

They were always

close to the bride, anxious 

for the honeymoon to start,

true believers

in for better or worse,

somehow able to wait.

They stood forever 

by the open grave,

silent flowers themselves,

lingering long after

others dispersed,

whispering, until

death do us part.

4/27/13