You walked through nine thousand snowflakes
The winter we met.
It was your way,
To listen to Gaia’s soft slumber;
To count the scant sunshine;
To contemplate the nine thousand
Celestial bodies
Arching their backs
Toward a future neither of us knew.

I had nine thousand dreams of you;
Nine thousand gray hairs that
Found their second youth in your hands;
Nine thousand trail miles
I wished to walk beside you;
Nine thousand caresses
I imagined in minute detail;
Nine thousand interpretations
To share over tea.

You ate nine thousand calories,
Those Christmas delights
I left in the warmth of your mailbox;
Nine thousand tears you shed
For the Christmases lost;
Nine thousand new traditions
We wished upon
Every one of nine thousand supernovas
To share.

If I could make nine thousand dollars,
I would spend every last penny on your smile.
I would travel nine thousand miles
To find your arms again;
Nine thousand years of
Birth and death, and birth again,
Just to listen to one of your
Nine thousand breaths.

I would plant nine thousand vegetables
In your garden,
The bounty of care overflowing
Into jars and salads, casseroles and salsas;
Make my thumb nine thousand shades of love
Just to share with you
Every meal until this body failed to need
Everything we nurtured to harvest.

As it is,
There are nine thousand things
I wish to say.

Only one or two of them
Have made the arduous journey
From my lips
To your lovely, elvish ears.

11/26/2012

Posted on 11/26/2012
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