artwork: ralph murre
My Life and I
by Thomas R. Smith
We are generous with each other,
though it’s evident anything
I love instantly becomes his.
I never tire of his stories, which
I know for a fact are all true.
For his part, he listens
without ridiculing my hopes.
Where we meet is the moving balance-
line between memories and plans.
We make a complete circle, his
looping behind, my sweeping ahead.
How could I ever feel poor,
knowing the note of each moment
is backed by the gold
ingots of those decades
he is carrying for me safely
in a satchel under his heart?
~ first published in The Foot of the Rainbow
(Red Dragonfly Press)
