Time,
straight by nature,
made circular by our hands.
Man could not stand to progress always
into an unknown void of time
so bent the line
around and around upon itself
always spiraling upwards towards eternity.
But we always pass the same place twice,
three times, five times,
all the times it takes
to kill us
I cannot see a Christmas dinner without you
I cannot see the trees in bloom without thinking
of a walk we took long ago
I cannot hope to make it through this week,
though I have made many laps of it before,
and stepped on this stone many times.
but this time is different,
a little bit higher
a little bit farther away from you.
I have a blue dress to wear
that I will say goodbye to you in
I hope you like it.
My mother wore it before me
and she loves you too,
more than I
In forty years I will see you as a shadow
on my heart
I know this
because it happens always
when time spirals up and leaves you
waiting for an angel
I hope that you will see me forever
marching up the spirals and someday,
I will choose a step
and I will sit
and the angel will come
and it will be you
And I will see the spirals below and say, “Goodbye, I have loved you.”
