there were days
when the sun shone
brightly & true
before night fell
& they faded
into fragments
of faulty memory
of faces
you would rather forget
even three fingers
of whiskey
can’t erase
all the debris left
of your love
lost love
remembering LA: their marks
nothing broke
that wasn’t already breaking
nothing lost
that wasn’t already almost gone
those years
like an eternity
left their marks
on heart on soul
and yet
I would gladly relive them
if only to taste
the sweetness
in your smile
except in my memory
the way
you handled
books
as if
they were
sacred objects
you were not
my type
and yet
you were
exactly
what I was
seeking
how did I
misplace you
forever lost
except in my memory
forever like my heart: for Frank
the wind blows through rooms
it chills whoever sits there
shadows on the walls
frozen in time forever
like my heart now that you’re gone
only a memory now
he can’t remember the song
just the image
her naked dancing
candles the only light in the room
he’s sitting on the floor
leaning back against the couch
the dog asleep above him
and her hips sway
the light playing shadows
where lust lives
and he will bury his head soon
immersed in shadows himself
and hips will be joined
on that floor
that rug
lost in what should have lasted forever
but is only a memory now
we climbed the rocks
it was
at that steak house
on the coast
we climbed the rocks
later
after having surf & turf
and talked
more or less
about the state
of our ununion
funny
how little remains
in my memory
just a faint taste
of lobster
the sound
of waves
hitting rock
and the sad smile
slowly fading
from your lips
lost in clouds
oh moon
lost in clouds
like my love
for thee
a picture of you
a picture of you
one thousand words
all of them
lost
through the crack
in my heart
a heart homeless
a car parked
on the wrong driveway
a heart homeless
on the street
outside
Song of the Bamboo Stalks by Liu Yu-hsi
Red blossoms: mountain peach, upon the heights.
Shu River: floods of spring caress the mountain, flowing.
The flowers bloom and fade, so like his love.
The waters run on endlessly: my sorrow.
translated by J.P. Seaton
Leonard Durso 