water scene

i.

you smile

edging toward the ledge 

you tease Death 

laughing into the deep 

tempting Neptune to kidnap you 

to grab you a diver 

at no risk no pain 

an explorer with sleep to gain

ii.

shall i leap into the water 

ask the sea be my mother 

or should i sit on the rock 

and relish its stability 

till the typhoon flies 

or a branch brings peace

We write back and forth

with greetings of friendship 

unsure our bonding 

while longing for one

Our smile is broad 

upon receiving a letter 

but wait we will

till our eyes spy the other

We melt into our ages 

our flesh altering with time 

doing the predictable everyday

till a face stands at our door

A stranger-friend rings from the porch 

awaiting a reply, an opened door 

unsure of our bonding 

while longing for one

So how shall I smile 

unsure our our bonding 

peering through that face 

since the longing is gone

*Human history is not the battle of good struggling to overcome evil.  It is a battle fought by a geat evil struggling to crush a small kernel of human kindness.  But if what is human in human beings has not been destroyed even now, then evil will never conquer.

-Vasily Grossman