m is for marina

Marina is moving to NYC. Today is her birthday.



for Marina

I stand and stare
out my kitchen window
north
to where I know you (only
a few blocks away) are
also standing
also staring
north

the water
weeping from our
faucets is
temporarily ignored
as we pour
our own into the
unknown
and down the east face

we who are friends of Charlotte
spin delicate doilies
and know
that friendship is a train station
sketched in pencil

the wind whistling through the
hollow spaces
will carry us away on
winsome silken strands
to other lands we have yet
to weave

the World Wide Web is not the same as
“Can you get the boys today?” or
a coffee in your kitchen or
a summer Smoky two-wheel ride or
a shared laugh over the antics of our offspring

when you arrive
please try to find
a kitchen
with a window
facing west