New Words

It’s two hours before dawn

and I’ve slept through the night

The rarest occurrence

 her footsteps come light

 

She let me sleep soundly

and she let me dream free

Before entering my bedroom

and calling to me

 

“Kurt, it’s Laura, she whispered

as she got into bed

Are you happy in the solitude

alone in your head

 

“Your spirit’s been truant

but its voice I recalled

Wake up from your sleep

 follow me down the hall

 

“I’ve something to show you

so rub out your eyes

And see what you looked like

as a boy about five”

 

She led me straight down

to the end of the hall

The door was half open

and my voice I heard call

 

“Aunt Laura, my crayons

have broken again

Aunt Laura, I need

some new words to begin

 

“The ones that you left me

I now know by heart

And to Mother and Father

I recited each part”

 

The boy smiled at her

and she smiled back at him

Before walking me back down

to my room deep within

 

“I’ve always been with you

and love you My Dear

As your Muse I’ve been charged

with your care all these years

 

“You were young when I met you

and took you by hand

Then to never abandon

your voice as a man

 

“Your days may come easy

and your days may come hard

But each night I’ll return

— with new words from afar”

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2018)