The Two of Us
by Robert K. Johnson 

             ––for my mother

             Just yards away
you stand on the dawn-
white sand while, caught
in the breeze,

strands of your grey hair
ripple over the curve
of your cheeks.

Backdropped by miles of sky
blue as the sea,
you look at me with a smile

that is all love.
Then you speak,
and though the splashing waves

drown out your words,
I know you are telling me
to come—to join you

and share
your pure happiness,
and I hate it

that I never had
at least this dream
while you were still alive.

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Copyright © 1999 by Robert K. Johnson