One more early am
Sitting here with some
Throaty jazz and pot
Of strong coffee forcing
Humanity into my mind
After a night of
Bawdy abandon with dreams
Of past soon to
Be past and yet
To be past lovers
And sitting here imagining
Having this same coffee
And it’s over conversation
Life is a series
Of let goes of
Growing up and growing
Out and growing beyond
Leaving things whether friends
Or beloved friends or
Even more than that
Stings but imagine being
A tree imagine watching
The most beautiful part
Of yourself that thing
That made you Tree
Turn and blow away
We all are just
Trees remaining strong despite
All those letting goes
You can’t sleep under
Wet blankets they’ll chill
You to the bone
It’s best to sleep
Naked then to have
The heaviness of earth
Squeezing out the warmth
I said goodbye to
Yet another love peeling
Them off of me
Like the greens from
Ears of corn and
Exposing what is inside
A brilliant sun shiny
Yellow tough to bite
Sweetly succulent on tongue
And coming out the
Same way going in
Some things you only
Enjoy for a while
Know what makes a
Jack-O-Lantern scary
It’s not the face
That has been carved
But the candle flickering
The same with people
Those with the brightest
Hearts with the whitest
Purest and warmest hearts
Both attract and repel
Almost all of those
With their own brand
Of deadly darkness inside
They’re the ghoulish ones
HARLAN DIDRICKSON 