Only One Place
Not in our bed on a cool morning
where I watched the gentle rise
of your chest slow and in time
to the dreams you never remembered
where you always asked for mine
could recall each one and match it
to a crease on my face or curve
of my hip
Not at the kitchen sink
where we disagreed about how
to load the dishwasher but agreed
to lean into each other and nod
at our pretty reflection
in the window looking east
watching for tomorrow
the one we never spoke of
Not at the Wine Loft
where they knew our favorites
your bold Australian Cabernet
my smooth Malbec
Argentine and they placed
the cribbage board on the bar
ordered our charcuterie for us
and you gleamed if an old friend
stopped by and saw you with me
No, not there.
That is not the place.
Not driving down I-40 fast
toward Santa Fe in your red SLK
with the top down and me
white knuckled you
gorgeous in your confidence
and safety assuring me with a rare smile
we loaded up enough red chile
for a year of posole and held hands
cherishing those big sky views
Not flying above Sedona
where the wind whipped your little plane
like a tissue paper kite and I noted
all the hikes I had yet to conquer
you measured my comfort
studied the sky knowing
with certainty exactly
where we would land
each time
Not at the door where you arrived
to give me purple irises
beaming like an eager boy
pleased that I answered and melted
into you again but never believing
no matter how I promised
that my love was not
a masquerade
No there is only one place
to say goodbye and that would
have to be in these lines
the ones you will never read
for you argued with my poetry
as if it were pleadings or up
for debate these feelings no
there is no place but here
as I can’t bear to say
it any other way
Photo by me.
pocket poet 
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