Tell me your stories about Goddess
And I will tell you what I asked her for.
Tell me how hard you had to unlive grief
And I will tell you how it rings like a wish.
We can meet somewhere these things never happen,
Pluck at the job of imagining, wear the right costumes
Let our hair down, let the rest have theirs up
In those stuffy old hats.
We can giggle up the lost laughter found
For the best things done right
For all the time in the world we had
Like rewards for finding each other at last.
This is what I asked; take all my wishes,
But I get to keep the one comes to mind
When I look into your face
And find what joy can do,
Its metronome counting out the thrill,
You in the wild rain in your Sunday dress.
Later, wiggling toes to crack off the mud
You tell me what is next and I believe every word.
R.H. Alexander is the pen name for Keith Hagen. He lives in Minnesota and his poetry has been in a number of anthologies over the past several years. His first chapbook will be published by Raw Earth Ink this coming year.