There we

stood

train

platform

one-way ticket

in your

hand

looking at

feet

afraid of

looking at

the

other

two

words

kept

choking

in our

throats

saying

nothing

you

climbed

aboard

gone

And so

we stood

side

by

side

selecting

the

last

few

flat

oval

smooth

skipping

stones

from

the

once

rich

treasure

trove

of

our

relationship

first you

then me

we

threw them

side-armed

watching

them

dance across languid water

at last

diving

headlong beneath

first you

then me

Just

when

we’ve

settled

in separate

ponds

when

the

sediment

of our

separate

lives

has

sunk

to

the

bottom

you

lob

in

another

hello

a boulder

that

crushes

the

new found

calm

and

silence

that

then

smashes

into

settled

debris

sweeping

it upwards

back into

our

lives

couldn’t you

just be

a freed

bird

why

must you

be a

boomerang

Your

body

reads

like

a

map

I

follow

your

ink

like

roads

leading

to

your

stories

roses

never given

Medusa

seducing

they

wind

around legs

and arms

twisting

and

teasing

roads

through

valleys

and

leafy

forests

Walking

tripping

over you

like a

root

you brought

me

to my

knees

wondering

why I

stumbled

I

cleared

away

debris

and

studied

you

your

roots

led

to your

trunk

and

there

you

were

above

me

sturdy

green

and

spanning

the

heavens

shading

me

from

rain

and

sun

protecting

me

from

a

harsh

world