The book I thought I had lost
returned to me by the grace
of a stranger’s hand —
or was it the wind
who whirled it like a leaf
and placed it, gently,
by my doorstep,
in a place she knew
I would find.
17.
So I guess it’s time
to let go of my
tears, to let you go
on into the night,
quietly, quietly,
as you let the world
go, voice cut from you
by the surgeon’s knife,
only your hands to
say goodbye, touching
the leaves of the
lemon tree one last
time, or Britta’s
pale, shivering arm,
or trying to hold
forever in your eyes
this olive-tree
twisted in the valley
winds, or this flash
of sunlight off
the high Sierra snows.