Is That You, Tex?

     Gone

Gone. The ghost is gone:
     The sense of adoring awe,
Wonder, and delight
     In your presence has lifted;
     And you vanished with the ghost.


     Emerging

After the ghost, you--
     Emerging gradually
From behind the veils
     Of wishing, wanting, longing;
     Wonder provoked:   Who are you?


     Nameless

I know your street name,
     But not your stand-alone name,
Not the name of you
     As you’re at home in yourself--
     The man who lives inside you.


     The Burr 

About you, I know
     One thing that you have made clear:
The phrase, “I love you”
     Disquiets you, disturbs you,
     A burr under your saddle.


     Love?

I do not love you,
     Nor do I will to love you;
How could I love you
     When in truth I don’t know you,
     Know the one within your skin.


     I knew the ghost, but 

The ghost within you--
     What I wanted you to be--
Has been exorcised;
     And now a stranger rides in,
     A man I know I don’t know.


     Is that you, Tex?

“Who are you, partner?”
     You grin with a smirk’s shadow
On your rugged face.
     I sense it’s wise to stand back,
     Rather than “mess with Texas.”