Posted: Sep 23, 08 10:03pm
Suddenly, wings beat on the air
and I remembered that
a moment's glance
earns a lifetime's misery.
All beauty was your beauty,
so I built a tower on the mountainside
and learned to wait for the moonlight.
What becomes of prayers once answered?
Do they have a beginning or end,
or is there a continuous stream of blessing
that we alternately see and ignore?
Every dream was your dream,
so I sat by the river
and learned to forget about signs.
Over and over the tears and laughter
amid expectation and disappointment
a tiny wind animates a feather
I know I will not see you again the way I did.
Every memory is your memory
such things we wish to remember
these things we wish to forget.
To the lady who bade me live forever:
how will you know whether
your wishes were granted
unless you grasp the wisp of one desire
driven inside another...
and deeply ask yourself
what was better, what was worse?
