What happened is
you needed me,
and I did not

I look over
my shoulder

into the mirror
in the hall

and see
this old guy

staring at me
reminding me

of someone
I once knew.

The sweetest Infinite wisdom claims no excellence nor promises perfection

a learning experience
- the detailed
timing and precision

- a certain etiquette
in the rise and fall
of hands and feet

i learned the walk
- mirrored on the toe
of a spit-shined boot

shooting imaginary doves
in white gloves -

the proper fold
of the cloth
- tight and taught
with stars above

the tri-fold - not
a trifling thing we're told

the color of a mother's tears
and grip of a father's grief -
the why in the cry of a child

- sad song of the bugler
on a windswept hill
standing in the detail.

r ~ 10/29/14