UNTITLED

There you are

that fatal moment

standing on the edge

Just when you

think no one's looking

I see you pick your wedge

7/29/1998 - Pierce Pettis at Club Passim

RSVP

Why do I rehearse disappointment?

When all signs are pointing toward

being forgotten

or left out

I prepare myself for the blow

no phone call

a gut punch

DANCING WITH MYSELF

I've felt the earth shake

and I've seen the breeze blow

I've savored so many of the world's delights

The world's best cinnamon bun

praline feuilletine

beef bourguignon

a rain dripped raspberry with the smell of mint 

crushing under my feet 

And yet

I'm watching the tip burn down

closer and closer to the end of the cigarette

 

1989

When your music entered my life

I was thirteen years old

I was a woman

when your music entered my soul

And like a thread knotted and sewn

from then until now

you've been there

through the breakups

and breakdowns

as dependable as the changing of the seasons

And guiding me forward

toward the twilight sky

EVEN BETTER THAN THE REAL THING

I dreamt about you

I touched your flanneled arm

And you took my hand

I can feel the pressure of your grip

Smell the cotton of your shirt

I can see you smile at me

as I bond with your Mom

And I wake with you in my heart

PROOF OF LOVE

My father was not the most demonstrative man

With a heart full of love and eyes full of tears

he tended to keep his affection and words to himself

When he brought a Claddagh ring*

back from a visit to Ireland

he was so silenced by emotion

that he failed to tell me it was no ordinary ring

When I had it sized for my right hand

my mother asked, "What are you doing?"

"Your father specifically bought it 

to replace your engagement ring."

*a symbol of friendship (cairdeas), love (grá) and loyalty (dílseacht)

OY KOSHMAR

Even if I had all my dreams come true:

a home on the beach

obedient children

It would be a nightmare to be with you.