We played on
The seesaw up
And down and
Up and down
Laughing at how
Odd we were
Yet still balanced
But then one
Day there wasn’t
You across from
Me and I
Didn’t know how
To rise again
And then I
Discovered me alone
I pushed to
Stand and finally
My own balance
No more games
No more tipping
Just me there
On my own
The heart sees
What the eye
Cannot the eye
Is like a
Furloughed sailor often
Grabbing the first
Drink he can
Becoming intoxicated quickly
Slurred and stepping
On delicate toes
Ah but the
Heart is patient
Retired and kind
Embracing and dancing
One slow waltz
After another adding
Intermittent butterfly kisses
Between each dip
This morning starts
Crisp and cool
Like that first
Bite of Braeburn
Apples plucked from
Refrigerators gray skies
Like aggie and
Indian and purie
Marbles with which
Once I played
Cars buzz about
Filled with hurried
Shoppers sipping seasonal
Coffees and teas
And you of
Course beside me
Warm and sleepy
Yawning and smiling
Heaven on earth
At the end
Of anything it’s
Often horribly dark
Cold and dank
It’s because we
Keep looking at
What once was
Emptiness is empty
Missing those things
That once filled
Then we turn
And see something
Else there out
There on the
Horizon and life
Not us moves
Us forward that
Thing out there
That thing that
We move slowly
Towards is hope
Hope of tomorrow
Of something better
Of a future
Absent of emptiness
I haven’t had
Much luck in
Love but great
Fortune my purse
May be empty
But my heart
Remains full I’m
A terrible gambler
I cannot bluff
When it comes
To love often
Loosing but always
Enjoying the game
And isn’t that
Better in the
Long run anyway
HARLAN DIDRICKSON 