Soaking

i go to sleep in my street
clothes
i dream about work
and mean-spirited
foes
i shout when it comes to
blows
and run
into the thick of the
throes

these days are all
the same
the push and pull seems
not to tame
but exacerbate
the pain
i long to stay
sane

and then a moment
stolen
by chance
away from the
rants
the endless needs
the constant stance

in the water
i float
i sink
around my knees a
moat
far away hangs the coat

escape

the bubbles fade
the water falls
cascades

my mind is clear
my moment so long
it's as if you are here
listenin' to a
rare song

though it ain't coming back
that love
that i lack
that i hold on to
in the deepest  black
and the shouting comes back
on
cue

and it's back to what i
need to do
turn off the tap

i can imagine

i can imagine
that you are here

and that i'm sharing
the things that float
here and there

coming up in quiet conversation
what was that thought?
did you read that
i read it

what did you think
hmmm, me too.
it was in English
wasn't it

but that's okay
because
there's a saying
about this

there's a peace one must
make
with our choices

and i've made peace;
uneasy.
good night
we won't talk 'till morning
okay?

right now
there's another conversation
going on

visitor

you were counting the years
but I had forgotten

life went on
and you went on
and here we are

separate
moving
forward
significant accomplishments like babies
now children
to show for it all

happy?
sort of
despite unions
that weren't as planned,
plans
that veered off course

growing up
while moms sighed
sometimes fretting
finding comfort with others left behind
all watching from afar

our lives shifted with days and nights that brought
change as constant
as the leaves that swirl outside these windows

standing with space and time behind us
content in this current moment, despite the grey;
fleetingly wondering what might have been

circumstances
kaleidoscope away
towards
away

you were counting the years
and you reminded me

now
you'll go
counting again
and I'll head home
remembering