All Your Pretty Words

I hear the sound of the sprinkler outside, not the soft kind we used to run through

but the hard kind that whips in one direction then cranks back and starts again.

Last night we planned to find the white argument of the Milky Way

but we are twenty years too late. Last night I cut the last stargazer

lily to wear in my hair.

This morning, the hardest geography quiz I’ve ever taken: how does one carry

oneself from mountain to lake to desert without leaving anything behind?

Perhaps I ought to have worked harder.

Perhaps I could have paid more attention.

A mountain I didn’t climb. Music I yearned for but could not achieve.

I travel without maps, free-style my scripture, pretend the sky is an adequate

representation of my spiritual beliefs.

The sprinkler switches off. The grass will be wet.

I haven’t even gotten to page 2 of my life and I’m probably more than halfway through,

Should you go first and I remain —To walk the road alone, I'll live in memory's garden, dear, —With happy days we've known. In Spring I'll watch for roses red —When fades the lilac blue, In early Fall when brown leaves call —I'll catch a glimpse of you.

Should you go first and I remain —For battles to be fought, Each thing you've touched along the way —Will be a hallowed spot. I'll hear your voice, I'll see your smile, —Though blindly I may grope, The memory of your helping hand —Will buoy me on with hope.

Should you go first and I remain —To finish with the scroll, No length'ning shadows shall creep in —To make this life seem droll. We've known so much of happiness, —We've had our cup of joy And memory is one gift of God —That death cannot destroy.

Should you go first and I remain, —One thing I'd have you do; Walk slowly down that long, lone path, —For soon I'll follow you. I'll want to know each step you take —That I may walk the same. For someday, down that lonely road, —You'll hear me call your name.

Should you go first and I remain —To walk the road alone, I'll live in memory's garden, dear, —With happy days we've known. In Spring I'll watch for roses red —When fades the lilac blue, In early Fall when brown leaves call —I'll catch a glimpse of you.

Should you go first and I remain —For battles to be fought, Each thing you've touched along the way —Will be a hallowed spot. I'll hear your voice, I'll see your smile, —Though blindly I may grope, The memory of your helping hand —Will buoy me on with hope.

Should you go first and I remain —To finish with the scroll, No length'ning shadows shall creep in —To make this life seem droll. We've known so much of happiness, —We've had our cup of joy And memory is one gift of God —That death cannot destroy.