the memory of
what lingers
on the tips
of my fingers
what sorrow
fills the chambers
of my heart
memory
distance vast between: reading Wei Ying-wu
the distance vast
between east and west
in miles in years
so long so far gone
yet here I sit
with coffee
laced with whiskey
listening for your voice
in these small hours
till dawn
peanut butter & jelly
how easy it is
for a peanut butter
& jelly sandwich
to transport one
back to a time
when the world was young
and innocent
if only for that brief moment
of pleasure
while eating
3am in the morning
the distance perhaps
in miles in years
cause these memories
both real and imagined
to co-mingle
restlessly
in the mind
yet the cat
gently calmly anchoring
an arm a heart
in the present
in this ancient city
both now call
home
against the rocks
turned my head
oh so briefly
but long enough
to lose sight
of you staring
at the Pacific
rolling in
against the rocks
these voices
these voices
in your head
at three o’clock
in the morning
reminding you
of the what
and the where
and the who
that caused each line
in your face
each crack
in your heart
from a line by Chang Yu: only the scent
there in the air
it lingers tenaciously
even after parting
only the scent
of you my love
long long it hovers
covers me
following a thought of Su T’ung-p’o: this flower
this flower enchants
yet it too will fade
to crumble to dust
although gone
from this world
not from my mind
my heart
there remaining as beautiful
as before
those red heels
there were those red heels
three inches high
and the dress
to match
floating discreetly
above your knees
an image
I take with me
wherever it is
I go
not so briefly
there was no way
of knowing
then
of what of where of why
to follow
nor the debris
left behind
in your passing
not so briefly
in my life
Leonard Durso 