A Friend from Yeh

"In flowering willows,
we rein in our horses;
at parting, we are free
to drink all the wine we desire."

– Chia Tao, from "Memento on the Departure of a Friend from Yeh, Last Day of the Second Moon"







The plates-full of stacked
turkey and potatoes all eaten;
it is late into afternoon
now and the stomach winces.

I pull the dog across
the street to tie her to a tree;
she will skip around the dirt,
dig holes seeking scents under snow.

If friends were the pockets
of moon glowing over
the white frozen bay
I would be in abundant company.

A stack of books is waiting for me
inside alongside a flute
of champagne still bubbling
over the rim of thin glass.