Think about it but don't reminisce --
Don't bother. The un-begun can't end.

And yes, of course I know it's not to me.

...

Clouds Gathering

It seemed the kind of life we wanted.
Wild strawberries and cream in the morning.
Sunlight in every room.
The two of us walking by the sea naked.

Some evenings, however, we found ourselves
Unsure of what comes next.
Like tragic actors in a theater on fire,
With birds circling over our heads,
The dark pines strangely still,
Each rock we stepped on bloodied by the sunset.

We were back on our terrace sipping wine.
Why always this hint of an unhappy ending?
Clouds of almost human appearance
Gathering on the horizon, but the rest lovely
With the air so mild and the sea untroubled.

The night suddenly upon us, a starless night.
You lighting a candle, carrying it naked
Into our bedroom and blowing it out quickly.
The dark pines and grasses strangely still.

-- Charles Simic

...

June 23, 2003

Watch for low branches while you're moving the earth
out from under. fresh air
is best above the trees (come out
the moon misses you) and who knows?
maybe we only have this by the ocean.

.