I think that T.S. Elliot had it wrong when he famously said that "April is…
YOU SAID HALO
The sky is wide and forgiving.
There were leaves and grass in my hair
and a different look about me when you loved me.
In the mirror, my morning face is map relief.
You told me once it had the look of a canyon,
cheekbones its ridges, the slope of neck the hollow
they fell into where your hand briefly rested.
Not even you would recognize me now.
All the ways I turned away.
All the ways I tried to hold what you carried.
All the ways the back-beat and the blown stars
weren’t nearly light enough above us,
left boot heel in the 4-count of your name beneath my breath,
my eyes closed on the dance floor,
my hair spinning.
You said Halo and I said Ssshhhhh.
If I close my eyes, does it mean you cannot see me?
©2010 Dora E. McQuaid
ALL PEACE TO EACH ONE OF YOU. DORA
Painting by the incomparable artist Kimberly Webber,
in her gallery, Untitled Fine Art, in Taos, New Mexico.