Sunday, March 19, 2017

a poem for derek walcott

 
'Heart, you are in my heart as the bird rises,
heart, you are in my heart while the sun sleeps,
heart, you lie still in me as the dew is,
you weep within me, as the rain weeps.'
-- Adam’s Song, Derek Walcott

i still can’t read that without tears.
all my heroes are dying.
i know someone else said that.
it’s still true. they’re dying.

it is not a metaphor,
but cold, hard fact.
like a body
and its longing.

God weeps as i weep.
us both saddened
by his passing.

will we ever see his like again?
i know someone else said that.
it’s an honest question.

*

i will miss your strength,
the way your words were centered
in experience, edging the epic,
fishing for meaning.

i will miss the sails reflecting
the light, measuring the horizon.
catching the wave, always moving.
the way you set the hook.

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