Love

it is like a small pain
insignificant

at first you don't notice it at all

(later, when it heals
the absence will hurt
more than the pain itself)

it is never just one hundred percent
cotton for cuddling; the smell of sleep;
delicious cold coffee; sunday mornings
marked with shy letters on the calendar;
the new york times in disarray; easy
conspiratorial silences; the mischievous
secret in public places; a tug on
the shoulders by suddenly little
fingers ...

never just the intimate sounds of
breathing; the familiar names;
the secure tones and
modulations; even the contrary habits that
become endearing

there comes a point
when you accept the pain
like daily bread
a nutritional catalyst

the barometer

Published: Ecos, Fall 1984, University of Illinois, Chicago; Helicon Nine, 1986, Kansas City, Missouri.