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our star watching
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down to water's edge we walk to stand upon the chilly dock to lie upon our backs and stare at a million magic summer stars well amused and lightly awed we mark the colors of the stars and name the one that shines the best -that yellow one, we call it “ours” she telling time within her head without the aid of watch or clock i speaking of the books i've read we wander silly with our talk and wonder if, at midnight's chime exactly, we could somehow walk across the water, where for a time we would the laws of physics mock and every night that stars would shine down a steep hill to that place together we would surely find ourselves-a tired glow upon my face a quiet peace upon her mind forgetful of the long day's pace but sadly when the dawn was nigh and tiredness consumed our bones and stars drew arcs across the sky we'd pull each other up and groan and take a sandy dark road by a wood, and slowly shuffle home but that was long ago and now she neither writes nor visits me i saw her recently and now she's filled with flawed maturity no longer able to tell time with just her finely tunèd mind she reminisced of colored stars and sweet imaginary wine and spoke about untimely death and friends of hers i'd never met we hugged and laughed that one last day we gazed upon the Milky Way and in a maze of identical stars could not remember which was “ours” i feared then i would never walk upon the midnight water's frock and so in daylight's glare i went and sat alone at water's edge to be by dark emotions swept as silently i weighed the cost and long and bitterly i wept for all the loves i'd ever lost. by Ronald L Conte Jr |
© Copyright 1995 by Ronald L Conte Jr
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