could swallow
whiskey river
trying to forget
the memory
of you
memory
at Leo’s: for the boys & girls upstate
the price
of drinks food
varied
any given night
depending on how
he felt
about you
a memory long ago
a step
into morning light
a memory
long ago
stumbling to the end of the month: January and my mother
there are some things
one cannot write about
adequately
words just won’t do
to express
what is in the heart
and January
always eludes me
as I stumble my way
to the end
of the month
remembering you
the hospital
you
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
from The Girl in Memory by Yang Lian
Names spread in all directions like a breeze
That starts with you yet also dreams beyond your breath
And is forgotten not far away beneath the ground
Or even very far away walks into the room that yearns for you
Even though you have never entered it
translated by Fang Dai, Dennis Ding, & Edward Morin
a picture old
here
a picture old
slightly torn
at the edges
you hold a pen
over paper
head turned
to the camera
a hint of a smile
on lips
in eyes
and now
years later
those unwritten words
haunt my nights
a variation on a line by Po Chü-I
morning breaks
light fills the sky
the book is closed
the glass empty
I rest my head
to face the West
wait for sleep
and dreams
of what is left behind
remembering Harry
sleep child
sleep
like the baby
you once were
not like the victim
you became
not to dream
to sleep
not to dream
to chase you
from my mind
Leonard Durso 