autumn

cousin my cousin
with your flowers and the great blue herons
on the edge of the flood
i don't know how hard it is for you
to grow old there
or how hollow the final show
in the city is going to be
or how satisfying the meal and wine before the fire
but the fair is only one vanity shop
in the city of stars
and the moon flowers
and the companion cats
and the smell of earth holding you
up above its dark resevoirs
but i have made a special place
in my solitude for you cousin
as you sail through the skies
in planes
i have built a raft with your letters
their finely executed script
and your picture cards are my private
gallery of all that made art art
for me and gladdened my heart
i have made a place for you in a heart
shaped boat
and i am going the way of all hearts
without a paddle goal or destination
and i will continue speaking to you
in my solitude
in the dead of night
the night filled with echoes
and the sound of water
and the rustling of yellow and red leaves
falling
*
for christine will