12/3/92- Visit

                             
                                                                 12/3/92

                                    Visit

Before the sun scratched and rolled over
A friend long dead came to talk and visit
Fragile butterfly still wet with bloom
A lazy eye and heart immense
Never have I been graced by such a spirit
In my dreams

Untouched by time,timeless
We spoke as adults for the first time
My questions answered,her voice true
Banter of life and afterlife
My heart consumed by a pure presence
And yet...

I was a violent man letting people get the best of me
Cruel,petty and unworthy
Undeserving of such a visit
Unless it was a lesson, a roadsign
A reminder of gentle options
That I could love a woman as a human being

She brought faith for the future
Wrapped in the lost promise of the past
I awoke thanking God for this contact
Mystery offering to a wandering mind
And a nearly abandoned heart

As a boy,I almost scored a field goal
For the other team
By snapping the ball too high on a punt
Through the goal posts
While my friend died three or four more snaps away

And I could have lived with the embarrassment
If I could have held my friend again.