surely

before the butterfly bails
to goose flesh and nails
it does a twitching dance
on every nine, six and four
call it a lawyer
call it a doctor
surely a broker
will hold open the door

before the battery runs out

a pardon
a struggle
an invisible bubble
the circumference of
a + b
equals
she & me
sacrifice
at the
turn of a dime
turns late nights
to early mornings
and shields me
from mourning
it spills out
in colors
and letters
shapes
and feathers
brushing the portrait
of a picture
lived
and never painted
and time
has me acquainted
too closely
with temperance
an art form
of grace
singing silently
and you
have to be brave

Anniversary

Fall and all attendant memories
Crowd the day with unrelated histories
Each year leaves its unresolving fantasies
To hang around each corner
Hang around each street.

Thick with ghosts, the wind whips round in circuitries
Carrying words as strangers exchange pleasantries
Do they intrude upon your private reveries
As they meet you on each corner
Meet you on each street.

Watch for daily braveries
Notice newfound courtesies
Finger sudden legacies
As they clean up every corner
Wash down every street.

Mark the month and all its anniversaries
Put away the draft of all your eulogies
Clear the way for all your private memories
As they meet you on each corner
Meet you on every street.

Make the time for all your possibilities.
They live on every street.

~Suzanne Vega