Once Upon a Time Poems

To Jennie

Written in 1989 for my best friend who died of lung cancer before her wedding


You lived in a hurry...
cigarettes and smoke,
your laughter,
my rainy grin,
living for the moment,
ashes to the wind.

Loving without torment,
you missed the dance,
roses by the gate,
white picket fence.
Why was it too late?

When I told you this,
my muted droning
got lost in the smoke.
Hiding your mischief
in my bitterness,
I had to retreat.

At the end,
although speechless,
the completion of the ritual,
without regret or joy.

To your fibers,
and to my heart,
you set a fire
inextinguishable.