Afterglow

Kelly, Kelly, where are you
When my life has taken turns awry?
Awake at night, I read my books,
And here am I, in absence of
My bespeckled literary friend.
Who'll turn the page
While I'm wiping my eyes dry?

Are you hiding behind
Your sheaves of unnamed poems
Waiting for a new chapter to begin?
The rain has fallen many
Springs since then,
Yet no downpour could erode
The passions I felt when
Our lives were intertwined.

No longer are we children;
I cannot seek the solace
Of your embrace behind
The evergreens.
Whenever I read a Whittier or Frost,
I'll regard my loss as timeless
As the page they're written on.
Should you run across
A Barret-Browning sonnet,
I hope you'll think of me.

© 1995, Jennifer D. Lac Kamp