My lady is so far awayI sit hereWaiting for her returnWaitingDropping beads of rainDanglingFrom the windowpaneNewspaperDiscontinuedA world suspendedMy mind is a cavernFull of webs andScaffoldingAnd words to bridge the darknessI need herTo shine light into the cornersTo fill in the blanksI need to be wholeAnd not torn acrossThe PacificAny longerNeither here nor thereAnywhere isLooming

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