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.”
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.”