Distances
“How beautiful you must be
to have been able to lead me
this far with only
the sound of your going away”
-W.S. Merwin
-The Moon Before Morning
1
Closeness became an illusion
like one darkness passing slowing
through the eyes of another
2
Alone with furniture
that will not hide its face
I wait
counting the ghosts
that spiral up from the wood’s grain
and tick by
3
When I return
I am silent
I do not wake you
Thinking this does not concern you
I let you sleep
4
Sunrise
and I must leave
You try to touch me
but the blaze of these moments
will not allow it
I am too protective
of the light that coats my morning
5
We do not exchange the colors
spreading within us
One light passes quickly unnoticed
through the eyes of the other
John L. Stanizzi, Author – Ecstasy Among Ghosts, Sleepwalking, Dance Against the Wall, After the Bell, Hallelujah Time!, High Tide – Ebb Tide, Four Bits, Chants, Sundowning, POND, The Tree That Lights the Way Home. Besides StJohn’s poems are in Prairie Schooner, Cortland Review, American Life in Poetry, and others. John’s nonfiction has been in Literature and Belief, Stone Coast Review, and others. He was awarded an Artist Fellowship in Creative Non-Fiction, 2021 from the Connecticut Office of the Arts. https://www.johnlstanizzi.com
