Orpheus: study #6


don’t speak for weeks
sit on stones by the river
beneath the mountain rocks
it’s dark water like tearsalt
autumns pass, winters pass, never a spring
no warming nights, no thawing snow

remember walking 
beneath a fragment of moon
sneaking amongst young spruce
laughing, light from the heavens starshine upon your skin
giving you my hands, giving you a ring 
guarding us against love

we must meet again

asking strangers who slide past
are you the one i seek
have sought everywhere
since the earliest days
the strangers always answer 
      no
(if they answer at all)

i have forgotten what i know
let my life begin as it ends