Daddy,
I’m dreaming pictures from you,
Tracing patterns in the painting,
Touching you on my paper-
Frost-bitten socks flapping on the line
In sierra winds,
The place where the wind calls your name,
Salty air and rain dripping
Among the invisible trees,
I remember Daddy-
Unraveling the constellations with you,
Then watching them fall
One by one back into the moon.

I remember your song
Under the trees, the river laughing with you,
Lemon sun and cotton moon,
Sometimes I feel my lips
Are talking to the air when I
Talk to you.

Getting lost was easy, Daddy
Unsure eyes taking chances
On green carpet and copper wire.
Wanting your fire,
I find blues and more blues,
A substitute for a dream
I cannot stop feeling-
An infinite scratch upon the surface,
My beginning of finding you.

Leave the nightlight on for me Daddy,
I’m reaching the under growth
Forty feet down in backwards
River currents,
Throwing it all away
To come back to you.

5-23-02