And: All: Our: Friends: Will: Follow:
This moment—broken—back
from a certain end
to the beginning
You are more—remember—and that smile never faded—not once
“That was a long time ago.”
“I know.”
“And what have you done lately?”
“More of this.”
It will remind you—as it was meant to do—of all the moments that you never saw
It is this—again—for
all that you may be
the rest of time
“Don’t let that discourage you.”
I have fallen harder than this—haven’t I?
Those days—the ones that came before all of this—were the good ones—the days I can not forget— no matter how hard I try—how late it gets—the wind howling its disapproval—many more times over—like the last sentence said—until that day— the one I have seen— when we remember what it was—and we take back all of the things we never did
**
The: Lessons: Of: Trees:
You gave me—oddly enough—that
which I could not otherwise find
could explain all of this
How should I have known—before now—that this would happen— without having been told?
“I’m sure you can find answers in these.”
“You’re probably right.”
“They seem to know more than you realize.”
“So do you.”
I did— in small ways—give
something back
when nothing else seemed appropriate
And that—in itself—feels fair—though I have no real way of knowing / without those answers that only time can give
“Now you must decide to become.”
What good is it—the knowing—the gift of this—without having a sense of how / or when / to use these things—finding time in moments—between now and that expected end¬— using what I do not / can not know for advantage— for the sake of finding you—holding on / as before / to all of these as key—and knowing—all along—that truth found in the ground—where water shouldn’t be¬—in the shade of a tree that I know
**
As: If: To: See: Her: Would: Be: Enough:
What comes between now and then—follows—from
the memories of before
a lifetime of understanding
Though—when that day comes—what matters most will have to be thrown out the window
“I’ve got this special place in my heart for them.”
“Why is that?”
“It’s what they do with nothing / taking it apart in new ways.”
“And that’s where the appeal is?”
She wore that shirt—I remember—though
what does it matter now?
she may have thrown that shirt away
And each time I see her I will pretend it’s the last – I promise
“This is what makes it all worthwhile.”
That all happened long before any of this—long before what matters
And what will become of her smile if there is no one left to write about it? —and what will become of the light that shines in her eyes? —there is more than self to this—more than words can express—right now—though they try—as if to imitate life—and her beauty lives on through them—and her smile is in between—and that will always be enough— and her presence will remind you
