Diary of an Absence


June 10, 1992

     I am constantly reaching for something beyond
my grasp, something that no longer exists.  I wonder
whether or not I touch the undersides of the green
leaves lightened by sun — his eyes as I first 
described them.
     Occasionally I fish out a corroded 
penny from the sharp-edged sculpture pool, stealing
wishes from their owners.

*         *         *

April 2, 1992

     A grapevine, if given long enough to 
grow, will weave itself around a lattice; 
intricately, the vine will complement its 
crosshatches.  By removing the woodwork, the
vine will keep its twisted shapes, now 
twining around space.  The vine's
configuration will remind it of an absence.


April 14, 1992

     The flashing neon phone has been calling.  It 
flickers my ex's name in Morse Code when
I am near.  Its rhythm is uncannily
like our rhythms for eleven hours one night into 
morning.
     Perhaps if I were as compartmentalized
as he, I would lock the drawer with his abandoned
clothes and continue as a friend.  The phone 
would be relieved.


April 30, 1992

     Miami frustrates me.  I see
it typewritten on a vendor's envelope at
work, and I think of palm trees, beaches, and under
his leather jacket beneath the Spanish style 
rooftops in the light of a full moon, kisses
with his cologne in my nostrils.
     I wake up sometimes to that smell, but no
longer in his bedroom as he knocks on the window 
while he is weeding.


May 31, 1992

     The night he left ... he crawled out of
bed, saying, "If I stay any longer, I won't be
able to leave."  He dressed, took his hangers,
then headed for the door.  At the last instant,
he set his boxes down and came back to my
bedside.  We kissed briefly; I was touched by his
consideration.  Within a week, I knew that the
dresser would be mine.

*         *         *

June 11, 1992

     The wings of the 757 weeped in rain, carried
me home.  His earthy nature is too soft
for return landings.