Who else will give me quiet tears shed for the beauty of words?

Who else will churn the milk of my heart with the tenderness of a down feather?

Who but you, Jack, can reach inside my chest, pull out my heart and replace it with your own?

Rain
– Jack Gilbert

Suddenly this defeat.
This rain.
The blues gone gray
And the browns gone gray
And yellow
A terrible amber.
In the cold streets
Your warm body.
In whatever room
Your warm body.
Among all the people
Your absence
The people who are always
Not you.

I have been easy with trees
Too long.
Too familiar with mountains.
Joy has been a habit.
Now
Suddenly
This rain.