We say goodbye, short

- long - stop, the signalling code --


of: I think of you.

anything that reflected you
from glass to a mirror
I would shine and polish
till I saw you clearer

anything that sounded like you
from a poem to a song  
I would sing and recite  
and quote you all day long

anything that resembled you
a painting, a clipping, a frame
I would keep, collect, store
and label with your name

Yes, anything
absolutely anything
that came remotely close to being you
made up my life and all I ever knew

my whole being was all of you
and you were all I became to be
It’s no wonder now without you
I spend my time in search of me

Farewell: we don't eat,

it just seems that way, as you --


also see in plays.

I half-hold her hand,

it's the cautious beginning --


of saying goodbye.

Should I continue

her life, and keep inventing --


how she would do things?

I feel it most when he’s gone,
At first it doesn’t feel like much
But the bruise on the cheek where he kissed me
Only gets sweeter to the touch

Like salt left on skin
From a swim in the sea
The remnants of him
On my body debris

My heart is bleached
By the sun of him
When he leaves, I’m still his
Every bone, every limb

The corner café

must close, because times have changed --


There is a new law.