Dear Teacher

– For Mary Oliver

“To love what is mortal;
to hold it against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it
go,
to let it go.” – Mary Oliver.

So many hours, under the dark
branches in the woods,
or in the vastness of the desert
my life depended on you, and in my
despair and joy I held
you close to my bones.
& now sitting by the window,
time to let go has arrived.

In the news of your death
thousands
of rivers fell down
from my eyes,
and my face, under the
this flood
sought
refuge
in my weary hands.

Today, you gave us
the eternal departure,
your last poem.

Dear teacher,
wild geese are
going home again,
can you hear them?

In their voice
they are reminding us
of the gift you were,
– loud and clear.

Dear Mary,
Sleep well,
you were not simply a visitor
to this world,
you, my dear,
will be remembered
the way you wanted be remembered,

the bride of amazement.

1.17.19
Washington, D.C.