Monday Poem

The Space Between Now and Then

A breeze through the window at my back
now that summer has reached its august stage,
is cool, and the apple tree outside another window sways
near the purple plum and I as usual bring you coffee

and you’re still here as the cat springs from floor to sill
still here as crow caws on her breakfast hunt
still here as the conversation of birds begins again
still here as the scent of cut grass seeps through the screen
and I think of all the reasons you might not be;
ones heavy with grief and fear

Your twin wanes like a moon-slim crescent
but you remain still here, still here
against odds, waking, dear as the sun,
which is here again
rising, still warming, still here because
what seems temporal is everlasting 
as the space between now and then

by Jim Culleny
August 4, 2010