"When I look for you, everything falls silent."
-W.S. Merwin
Each morning I see you
close the door of sleep.
Your breath, a perfume
of cedar and bees, lingers
at my lips. All day I seek you
writing your names
with empty hand
on sheets of air.
I know I will
not find you here
the only place
I have to look.
Crows gather outside
in the trees
no symbolic value
except for me
if I should turn from my task
if I look for you
in the air, in the blood
of a river.
All day I wrestle
the man in the mirror
each breath
a silent telling.
No matter that I am standing
where my father stood
feet gray as mud
holding the same air.
My discontent
casts such shadows
only the thought of you
keeps me pressing
forward
away from you.
Lee Rossi's work has
previously appeared in The Sun, Chelsea, the Apalachee Quarterly,
Poetry East, the Los Angeles Times, and others. His book Beyond
Rescue appeared in 1992, from Bombshelter Press, LA.
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