AFTER A FIGHT

You came with daylilies woven in your hair
and with the long lost smiles I missed so much
and in response I gave a halfhearted grin
but felt it too inadequate for the occasion
and found my fingertips parting your tresses
and drawing lines on your forehead keeping
my tears from running all over my face
I thought long and then with my hands
fancied and thought up an oracle on your head
To keep in it a secret shrine of remembrance
Of our sorrows, the solemn moments of silence
After a fight when we felt each other rather than talked
And left the poison of pain whisper harshly into our hearts
At this place I perceived how I drank myself out
and made myself hollow to hear your voice there
echoing your presence and filling myself with your scent.
I felt your hair brush my skin and in resignation
we embraced in our solitude and I breathed
the fragrance of the flowers in your hair.