Bice Blue and the Continuous Present

    Past perfect — mode of leaving well enough alone,
          as in he had been here but left:
          flat hand of what can’t be undone now —
          not by revision, not by adjustment:
                  
doorknob screwed tight,
                   bracket for the cellar step at last;

    not like the simple past — thinly strung to the present
          as in he was here but left:
          airborne leaves in updrafts,
          dust caught in scratches on old windows:
         
          key in the Honda lock,
                   engine echo in the driveway;

    whereas the continuous present promises the world
          as in he is coming any minute now:
          bice blue sky with lissome swills
          morphing to elephants, rabbits, squirrels:
                   everyone romping around,
                   some with balloons;

    much better than the continuous future,
          he will be coming: ominous pause,
          reluctance in the form of an excuse
          left on envelopes under a hallway door:
         
          me still looking everywhere,
                   hoping for your return.

-- Lynne Potts