Someone Goes Over Old Love Letters

Someone forgets for a
moment, thinks of
going next door to
borrow--then falls
apart. Someone
still expects a
woman with
strong arms
coming back
with groceries
and a joke. Some
one waits for a
black Honda, thinks
of the smell of coffee.
In another house,
someone starts to
make lunch but
there's no one to
make lunch for.
She can't stop
seeing the
shapes tumbling
from the sky.
Someone sets up
an altar with
incense and a drawing.
Her child stops
before it, says "come
eat dinner Daddy"

--Lyn Lifshin