She made sense of your past

She lifted the weight of the present

in an instant

When she came,

light dawned

.......

 

A ladder for lost birds

tossed in the winds,

or splayed on the grill -

their smothered cooing

their withering wings

their dismembered craws

 

A ladder

that steals light from a tear

for a candle embracing its loneliness

.......

 

The sad afternoon settles near her

close to hand

She toys with scents and meanings

A train travels down the tunnel of a lifetime

and the streets of your childhood fade into the distance

 

Something tossed on a chair

makes you linger -  

the scent of her tea

her fruitful laughter

 

Another woman crosses your absence

and the rest pass by

As you strain to listen

it goes right through you -

a solitary nail

hammered in a wall