ON THE TRAIN

I say I would lock my heart
away, would try to make it
be still.
But if I did, the light
in the room of my mind would burn out.

Dreams may not seem so real
without you here. Maybe it’s not the way
I would have it turn out,
but there will always be waiting souls,
will always be a classroom
to fill, will always enough to put food
on the table. It’s hard to imagine life
before now.
It’s hard to imagine life without it, too—
impossible almost.

I say I would lock my heart
away, would try to make it
be still. But if I did, the light
in the room of my mind would burn out.

(23 November 2006)