year after year
you lived in my mind
through the snow
bearded
trudging
past famed foliage
between tourists
weaving your way
smiling in the sun
a wind-cooled body
cycling past
freshly shaved
your rite of spring
moving right along
year after year
you lived in my mind
week after week
we sat and talked
you helped me walk
again enjoying
the smell of life
following a deer
to that magical glen
where all things grow
year after year
parting
we both knew
there would be no
let’s keep in touch
write me a letter
making it on my own
I felt proud
not missing you
was OK
(how to say “it’s OK”
I learned from you)
year after year
you lived in my mind
till I heard you died
years ago
now
years after you died
I cry
and still you live
not so much in my mind
but in my tears
and in the joy
you helped restore
New York City
January, 1998