I would have given it my all

Through thick and thin, winter and fall

I would have given it every last atom

Every breath, every waking moment

Every tremor of my bones.

All that was ever available 

Was Wednesday

All that was ever available

Was end of day

A bracket of time

A sliver of you 

A skylight through which 

I can see stars dancing

Just out of reach

Unattainable fireworks

Dreams upon dreams within dreams.

A skylight onto a haven

A string of stolen moments

A door ajar

To just a fraction of me

– A skylight 

Over Plato’s cave.

You threw the dice

Circumscribed your parameters

Narrowed down my choices

– and withdrew –

Keeping your thoughts locked within

Delineating a cage of illusions

Closing it in my face. 

I let go

Of all appointments

Wants, longings, & dreams of tomorrow

– The engagement I keep 

With myself –

And the memories drift off the tip of my fingers

Onto yesterday’s shores.

06-20.03.2022

Georgia O’Keeffe, Black Cross with Stars and Blue, 1929