Lead me away
From the harsh face of war
From loss and despair
And all I abhor

Let me rise up
And give Earth a nod
And take a final step
To touch the face of God

Take me through glorious hoops and mazes
Mysterious, magical, wondrous places
Then join me in a whimsical flight
And let me bask in morning's light

I held her in my arms
And kissed her tenderly
I knew our love would last
Throughout eternity

She was the sweetest girl
So lovely, fair and fun
I blessed the day we met
I knew she was the one

And then she fell asleep
This angel I adored
A smile graced her face
As she began to snore

The sound would wake a dead man
So eerie was her roar
I could only ponder
"Where is the exit door?"

I thought she was so special
This girl was mine for keeps
But that could only happen
If she never fell asleep

It was our final date that night
I said "farewell" with poise
I'll never forget my one true love
...Or that unbelievable noise

Explosions of grief won't greet her death
Great men won't be summoned to speak
Bands of mourners won't wail at her passing
These gestures she will not seek

Just mingle the day with music and madness
Make the day one drooped in frost
Children must carry her down winding roads
Clarinets must moan her loss

Then at an hour no one knows
A man must visit her grave
He'll kneel and touch her tombstone
And smile a mysterious way

He'll be dressed head to toe in somber black
Conveying his grief gallantly
Just let him place one pink rose at the site
And rejoice in his memories

And what is left
but sleep
and dreams
and nightmares
more real than life?

Are we prepared
for raging winds
or
the slightest tremble
from mother earth
that may
give way
at any time
so quickly
so deftly
beneath our fragile
feet?

my sister
emily had
leukemia
but was in
remission

we wanted
to let her
know how
special she
was so we
sent away to
a mail order
place in
new hampshire
where - for
forty-five
dollars - they
sell you
title to a
star in the
sky and you
name the star
after someone
and they
send you a
celestial map
that is all
blueprint blue
with spidery
white lines
compass points
big red dots

we checked
the map out
and found the
designated
location of
what we named
the emily star
situated at the
intersection of
m and twelve -
m/twelve on
the celestial
map - a star in
a cluster of
stars in the
sword handle
of perseus the
brochure said

one freezing cold
night we all saw
the emily star
blinking like
the only light
on a tiny
christmas tree
but we could
see it clear
enough no need
for a telescope
or anything and
we cheered and
prayed and talked
about god and
love and life

then two weeks
ago right after
emily got real
sick again
we looked up
and noticed that
the emily star
was gone and
my son looked
up at emily's
window...
it had the
lightest
glow coming
from her
bedside lamp
so we just
looked at one
another and
went inside
and i quietly
walked up the
stairs and
entered her room

his eyes follow words sentences
paragraphs his mind seeks order
balance as each printed mark is
examined and a battalion of red
pencil marks pursue the perfect
page his deep blue godlike eyes
peer beyond glass seeking sense
syntax eyes that will not blink
in this selfless solitary quest