TO SUSAN - ON THE EVE OF CHRISTMAS - 1996

 December 22, 1996
       
        December closes our year.
        And we thought
        That the close of our year
        Would be the begining of our lives
        Together.
        But the Universe had other plans,
        And we cannot read the Mind of the Universe
        As easily
        As we were able to read each other's hearts.

        We two, like god and goddess,
        With words,
        And with silence,
        Created a world of limitless possibilities.
        And in that world of our creation,
        We two,
        By our divine wills,
        And by the love we bore each other,
        Crossed a continent,
        Spanned the distance,
        Over rivers and streams,
        Over mountains and valleys,
        Because we could not bear
        To be apart,
        Because of the longing and the ache
        In our divine souls.

        The universe that we two created
        Can not be created by others.
        For by the power of our love we did it.
        As man and woman create a child,
        So we two created our love,
        And filled it with happiness and hope,
        And filled it with tenderness and passion.
        And we read each other's minds,
        And touched each other's souls
        And bodies,
        As we had never done before
        With others.
        We dreamed insurmountable dreams
        About out lives
        Together.
        We were unreasonable in our transformations
        Because we loved each other
        So fiercely,
        And with such passion.

        Our spring and summer alternated
        Between sadness and happiness
        And I choose to remember the happiness.
        For what is left to us now
        But memories of incredible happiness?
        We brought each other happiness
        With a touch,
        With a word,
        With a thought,
        With burning passion,
        With gentleness and understanding.
        We were lifted up to heaven
        By the magnitude of it all.

        How many nights?
        How many hours
        Did we create magic,
        Though miles separated us
        Through our spring and summer?

        Now it is winter,
        And my soul still bears the imprint
        Of the love and happiness
        And promises
        Of spring and summer
        Which we two created,
        In our innocence,
        By our divine wills.

        Joy is in the air,
        And caroles sung.
        Bells are ringing.
        And we two
        See December closing our year.

        We breathe the cold air.
        But no longer to each other.
        We see our breathings
        On the air.
        And then they are gone.

        December will pass into a colder January
        Without your arms around me.
        I will breathe alone
        The cold air of the City
        Whose surrounding river waters
        Still whisper the name of SUSAN,
        And the name of SHOSHANNAH,
        As they kiss my island.