Lament

If I could just have you back again, here,

Not in my arms, but merely near, where I

Could know you were at hand, I would hold dear

Those things I criticized and did decry --

Smoking cigars, your bourbon on the porch,

Your little smirks and snorts at my remarks,

Your laziness and lounging on the couch,

And all your crankiness and common quirks.

I would be satisfied and let you be

Yourself, would let you sleep and snore, content

Just to have you around; and you would see

I can be happy, this time apart well spent.

But it is not so. You are gone for good.

Only by absence now I know I could.

                                                                             KLK

                                                                             04.07.04