"There are terrible decisions
That you have to make
In business," he said.
"The you being me."

I was thinking of the quiet
The cold winters, the warm fires
The deep, deep snow,
Seeing your breath exhale extragantly
Not just huffing and puffing and
Finally seeing a little, if that.
Where he was, it gets really cold.
People sort of huddle together at home and
Work, out and about.
People know each other up there.
They know what's happening.

"It's hard when you work together,
Know each other, have agreed and disagreed,
Seen each other for years every day almost."

The dog enjoyed the walk although we went too far
As far as he was concerned. A walk involves
Less walking and more goofing around
Tugging the leash, learning new tricks,
Rolling together in the grass, getting treats.
What's with all this walking? But walking
Calms my thoughts so sometimes we walk.
Like today. We actually trespassed to see
If an old path of my boyhood still existed.
It didn't. Just totally overgrown. I looked
Down where the path used to be. I remembered
Running down there at full steam.
Probably from the town police.

"We just didn't see things the same way.
Is that enough? He bothered other people
More than me. I always thought of him
As really nice."

At first I thought it was tomorrow's game.
Somehow I missed that it was today. But
It was actually an old game with my team
At their best. One of the NFL's Top Ten Games.
The players seemed a little nimbler, more determined
Than they do now. It's only been two years.
Do we really fade that quickly?
Wisdom replaces sinew, and holds off disappointment
For a while, but in contact sports,
It catches up fast. It comes in all flavors:
Some delicious, some just okay, and some
Utterly displeasing. And not just in sports.
Sometimes in sad surrender to consensus.

"He'll be all right. He's a smart guy. Vision is
A hard thing. You either have it or you don't.
The sad thing is you can also
Have the wrong vision."

The sadness was so unfeigned
That it unsettled me. Why not just
Do what you've got to do and stop
Overthinking everything? Sometimes there
Are decisions that you must make. Then
You must take what comes of that.
You have to be brave and right,
Which is an irregular marriage
If ever there was one.
Bravery rushes in to the rescue.
Right takes conscience and concern.
You have to be able to blend it every time,
The you being me.

09/22/2012

Posted on 09/26/2012
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