Joan Of Arc

(On this day in 1431, Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in Rouen, France. She was 19 years old.)

You float in cool water now, just another little girl riding her toy boat into a sea of dreams. Your skirt hitched up, wading knee deep in the stream. And the only voice you hear is the whisper of the breeze.

You walk through cool grass now, and the dew sparkles on your bare legs. Your basket is filled with chamomile and lavender and one perfect white rose. And the smoke is rising from your own chimney, smelling of fresh baked bread.

You shimmer in cool air now, the rain falling gentle while you dance in circles smiling up at the sky. Hands clapping, skirt twirling, raindrops glittering in your hair. Your bare feet tramping a little circle in the sand on the edge of the sea. And even the marsh grass is laughing, at how happy you look.

And you swear by the salt spray and the white sand, and you swear by the raindrops, and you swear by the neon halos piled high on your grave, that deep in your heart you forgive them.

Ghosts Of A Spring Night

Emily is sitting on the bed wearing my old L.L. Bean denim shirt. It's big on me, on her it swims like a trench coat. She's eating a sandwich, peanut butter and strawberries on whole wheat. It's one of her favorites. She's snarfing like she hasn't eaten in weeks. Good sex always makes her ravenous. She says I should feel complimented by it. I totally do.

She looks so happy I have to lean over and kiss her, and the kiss tastes like Jif and berries. Flashbacks to grammar school picnics in Prospect Park, sunlight and warm grass and sandwiches wrapped in wax paper. Portable radio tuned to the WMCA Good Guys. Singing "She Loves You" with my special friend Eileen....Emily always laughs when I reminisce like this.

She pushes her glasses up on her nose, crosses her eyes and makes a funny face at me. I warn her to be careful or it might stick like that. Life's good this Saturday night.

Memorial Day

The names of the dead are written on blood red ribbons and rolled up in prayer wheels for the faithful to turn.

The names of the dead are carved into flat stones and skipped across the waves to sink into the sea.

The names of the dead are written in warm white sand, waiting for the wind to pick them up and take them home.

The names of the dead are sealed into fireworks, waiting to explode across the summer night.

It's the least we could do for them, they deserve so much more.

Just A Night In May

There are too many ghosts on this road, they line the shoulder dripping and grey, with their eyes pleading. I don't even want your body any more, when we're driving past them.

And the moonlight never goes away, not even on the sunniest day....

I can't look too long in your eyes, there's too much knowing in there, and you're trying to be so brave when you joke with me. Days like this I don't know how to see you.

And the moonlight never goes away, not even when you're laughing.

One Night In Japan

The old wooden footbridge is wet with the mist, and the oil lamps that hang on the railings glow soft and yellow in the fog. The wind is still, the moon set long ago. The farther shore is invisible behind its blanket of clouds.

And your hand in mine is damp and cold as we step from the path onto the bridge, from the sand onto the wood, and the sound of your boot heels dissolves into the hiss of the river.

I slip your hand into my pocket, and we're walking so slowly the sun will probably rise before we reach the other side.

Life Before You

Every day I feel a little less here, feel a little less real. Fading away but I don't know to where. Feel like I'm looking at the memory of colors, trying to remember what food tastes like. There's dust all over everything, even my eyes.

Pretty soon I won't even cast a shadow.

Today I walked out the door into the damp ghost of an afternoon on Nova Scotia that happened before I was born, but I did my errands anyway and it almost felt real for a while. Feeling like I could have stayed home and phoned this whole lifetime in.

And then I remembered you'll be here tonight!