Part III · The Des Moines / Post-Military Era (2000–2015)
I wake to an empty morning
Every breath is a sigh;
The wind is but a cry
Of an echo of defeat—
For I’d finished last
The light in my eyes is
But a shadow of the past
A lurid reflection of a sun
That once brought me day
My face is gray and pallid
As if formed from clay
And then I see her,
In my mind’s eye
My image of an angel.
I can only smile as I think of her,
My one true love, pure and free as a white-winged dove
When we were together
We’d watch the sun rise in baby blue skies
You were so quick to smile
We’d sit there a while
And I’d lose myself in you
I’ll always remember
You taught me we’re young no matter how old
To look for our rainbow and our pot of gold
You were there by my side
My friend and my guide
My love, I’ll never forget you
I can still feel your heat
Paradise was so sweet
For that’s what we’d shared
I can still taste your lips
We were quoting the scripts
From some tragic play
I can still hear your voice
Oh I made the wrong choice
When I let you leave
I can still smell your scent
But not where you went.
I still love you
With her shining face still bright in mind
I laugh to myself and feel for my cane
Such are the follies of one so blind
Who walks so sadly through unseen rain
Composed 2000 · part of the Poems collection · authorship documented on the Provenance page.