ON THE HORIZON

A BOY AND GIRL AND LOVE IN 1962

On the horizon
dark birds in the sky

set against a greyness
of clouds holding rain

and she snuggled
up close to you

and said
I dreamt of you last night

and we were making love
and the big moon

was shining through
my bedroom window

and shadows sat
in the corners

like old men dying
and then my mother came in

and said
what are you doing

with that teddy bear?
And you laughed

and she nibbled your ear
and there was the smell

of pine and damp grass
in the air

and you wished
you had shared

her dream
that night before

making love in her bed
but she's dead now

cancer claimed
and swallowed by death

but the wish still lingers
in your aged head.