SHE
She
Was
My genetic match
I say
In retrospect
The one I was meant
To marry
To have children with
To make a life with
To live out my life
In loving joy
On the shores
Of some moonlit lake
Somewhere
In the Green Mountains.
|
She
Was
A runner
Whose picture
In the student paper
Made me say:
"That's the one for me!"
In all my
Grandiosity.
|
She
Was
The Metrobus
That hit me
In the school cafeteria
The first time I saw
Her
Pastel green dress
White anklet socks
All the beauty
God gave
Woman.
|
She
Was
The lightning bolt
In THE GODFATHER
The one that made
Michael
Flip head-over-heels
Over that sweet Sicilian
Who later
Blew up in his
Car.
|
She
Was
Being unable
To breathe
To talk
To sit still
To think
To make my heart
Slow down
After I saw her
For the first
Time.
|
She
Was
Italian
Off-the-boat Italian
And her voice
Was comfort
And knowing
And love
And understanding
And ready to break
Into a laugh
At any moment
At life in these
United States.
|
She
Was
Waiting for
Her
When and where
I knew
She would be
So my heart
Would stop
On sight of
Her
And time
And distance
Would change shape
All things happening
In the background
At a different speed
Than for her and
Me.
|
She
Was
Dancing
To "Funkytown"
Moving to me
From across the floor
So she could dance
Right beside me
And make my heart
Stop.
|
She
Was
Writing
I love her
In chalk
On every blackboard
On every floor
In every classroom
Throughout
An entire university
Building
At two
In the morning
Drunk.
|
She
Was
That stunned
Unfolding
Awareness that
She
Had a thing for
Me
Like the thing
I had for
Her.
|
She
Stopped
The world
Bedevilled me
Messed with my head
Made me drink
To make sense of
Her.
|
She
Was
The reason
I went to
Italy
And learned
Italian.
|
She
Was
Lifelong obsession
Never leaving
My mind
For
Decades.
|
She
Was
Three hundred sixty five
Birthdays
To choose from
On which to be
Born
So she chose
My
Mother's.
|
She
Was
The mirror
That reflected on
Me
How far out
Of the game
I
Was.
|
|
