My lady is so far away
I sit here
Waiting for her return
Waiting
Dropping beads of rain
Dangling
From the windowpane
Newspaper
Discontinued
A world suspended
My mind is a cavern
Full of webs and
Scaffolding
And words to bridge the darkness
I need her
To shine light into the corners
To fill in the blanks
I need to be whole
And not torn across
The Pacific
Any longer
Neither here nor there
Anywhere is
Looming
But not home
Soon I will miss here
And home
Eventually
I will slowly exhale
On my porch
And look at my old hands
On a summer’s evening
And smile
I will reach for your hand
Without looking at your dark eyes
That still make my heart flutter
I will weave my fingers
Into yours
Like wet dough
And we can drift a little
Without saying a word At breakfast
We will read the paper
And linger over juice
And giggle occasionally
You will think of your mother
And hesitate, pensively,
Looking at the floor
I will put down my paper
And walk over to you
And put my head in your lap
And make my little puppy dog face
To make you smile
I live to make you smile
If only you would smile
When reading this
All my labors with words
Would be worth it
All my struggles with expression
Would be nothing
A smile from your mouth
And I will be light as air
A word from your lips
And I will be saved
A touch from your hand
And I will be free