My Better Angels
The morning breeze
whispers through window.
and a song plays in my head
again and again and again
while a new poem yet unmeasured stirs.
I ponder the many ways
to say love and affection.
My mind’s eye sees
glistening lakes and fields
the highways that take me away
and me back
here where I find my time and place.
The clothes dryer in the backroom hums
as I glance out the window.
Last night I saw a photo of my friend
of when she was a bride
and now she is divorced.
I ask myself
how I can make
someone as beautiful as she
happy again.
She returned to work
and I was drawn to her
the time when she asked
if I was working the next day
as the night slipped away.
She was my happy birthday wish
growing more beautiful every day
and I was her valentine
the afternoon when
as she squeezed between
the time clock and me.
Someone else
who’d seen us together
said we were best friends
I showed my friend a story
and told her it was going
to be published in a magazine.
She said she was proud of me.
I showed her poems
and she read between the lines.
Now I realize
moments spent together
in the cosmetic aisle
and conversations in soft voices
were more than they seemed.
This morning as I awaken
my life comes back to me
as a bird outside my window sings.
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