STAIRS

One of two elegies I composed in memory of my first wife, Patricia.

Stairs

 

When to Slidell from N’awlins came

She feared they might be much the same

So she asked a neighbor--me--to wait

Atop the stairs, to hold the gate

 

And watch her path, lest ill befall,

When she, as leaving work would call,

And I atop the stairs would stand

To quell her fear, to take her hand,

 

And laughing, lead her to her door…

A duty, alas, that’s mine no more.

 

For now, ‘tis she atop the stair

And I who wait, all unaware

Of dangers, whether real or no,

Of that new land I fear to go,

 

And I, who pensive, upward glance,

Where she, with healthy, happy stance

With patience waits, my steps to guide

Atop the stairs, for my last ride.

 

With labors ended, home to fly,

At last to live with God on high!

 

c. mark teague

october 1, 2004

Reviews

[Lourisa]

Beautiful, Mark: the rhyme, flow, meaning, everything came together beautifully. It is such a joy reading your work.

[Samuel Dickens]

Perfectly crafted, as I would only expect from you. Perhaps you two will meet again one day.