September 16, 1950 – September 27, 2014
Absence
On rising currents of warm air,
Seagulls’ wingbeats whisper upward,
Cogent, steady, slow volutions
Ascending like a bird in space
Cast to silent, smooth perfection,
Poised in softly poignant stillness.
Wood smoke cutting curves and figures,
Augurs of caprice and absence,
Piquant wisps around gray meadows’
Winter weeds and scattered fieldstones,
Touchstones of a way apart,
A cryptic, hallowed, quiet expanse.
For Karen, from Janet – With all my love
