For Lydia

 

When the day

has slipped,

and all its

burdens –

         large,

         small,

         soul-expanding –

are set

aside;

when sleep

arrives –

         calm or fitful,

         dreamless or

         dream-full;

when the new day

dawns and

the world

(having fulfilled

its obligations)

continues

its slow,

unbroken

revolution;

I will carry

your absence

forward,

always,

in my grief-

softened

heart.

 

— C.Birde, 2/20