Doug Anderson: Waking

You watch me in the mirror as you put on your earrings.
I’m still in bed. Don’t want the world to have you yet.
*
Love promises so much in the beginning, then takes it back.
Says, you’re on your own now. See how far there is to fall.
*
What I want: love like a filling sail, a steady tack
against gentle rolls. I let you take the rudder for a while.
*
At my age I shouldn’t have these thoughts.
So says the reasonable man from his plush chair.
*
That storm came up while I was dreaming of a storm.
*
I resent it that you’ve put on your life jacket before me.
*
Silence honors what cannot be said without destruction.
*
The day will come when I will see you as a stranger
and love will begin all over again.

—

Copyright 2015 Doug Anderson