And there it
Was an adventure
A piece of
Your car hanging
Like a dead
Carcass of something
That you plowed
Over unable to
Move you surgically
Removed it with
Scissors and on
Our way we
Went happier because
We not you
Climbed the smallest
Mountain I’ve seen
I have never
Seen two birds
Bump into each
Other in flight
We were lucky
Then to be
Humans instead of
Birds weren’t we
And it came
As a surprise
A video call
From you after
A silent week
Like a river
Thawing under April
Sun the chatter
Flowed quietly as
Trickles at first
Then torrents of
Laughter and teasing
Awakened again alive
We seemed to
Grow back into
One another rolling
Like the majestic
River we are
And one large
Black cloud stood
Still above me
And let loose
Saturating me with
Affection and interest
And as quickly
As it began
It ended my
Cloud moving on
Perhaps I should
Get an umbrella
If I’m going
To play again
In the rain
And like a
Pup waiting beneath
The dinner table
Or the feral
Cat yowling outside
The screen door
I’ve become an
Acceptor of scraps
Tossed as an
Afterthought or perhaps
A pedantic gesture
Or maybe even
A lure keeping
Me enticed until
You catch me
Measure me and
Throw me back
HARLAN DIDRICKSON 