A Whisper of Blue

We say goodbye as the wild earth cries 
and I lament how the death of love
so becomes you

I cry out your name

 Yet
 Through the long night comes a new pain
 parting
 on now
strange city streets 
bequeathing false memories
where dark silence
   abounds
 drowning sound,
 a tumult of affluent emptiness--

 I whisper your name

my heart's hopes
 burst forth
like a dream merchant marketing solaces,
on a sunny Sunday before the church doors open

 But I am still alone
 and the slap of you still lingers
 more potent than any kiss
 it's because with you
                    I understood
                    alive