Dan

the boy had become
what boys become
if they are very lucky,
very hard-working,
very strong:

he had become a whole,
and that is something different
than merely becoming a man.
he was another thing now
that had been built on
the foundation of a boy.

when he smiled
it was a smile first seen on this earth
in a fat little face
with a hiccough for a laugh.
that smile started moving 27 years ago
just so it could arrive at this moment
and be gone.

he was another thing now
he could build things,
instead of merely taking them apart,
but building things had been built on
the foundation of a boy
taking things apart
to see what was inside.

he was unshaken
when others shook;
he was at peace,
grown up out of the turbulence,
knowing somehow
to be his own center,
his own foundation

he was gentle with animals
and they knew his intentions were kind,
even as a boy.
and when, later, he had a brood of his own
they would not take their eyes off of him
and their eyes were full of love.

but he had become a whole,
and not just a man:
she found him and tamed him
and he her
and their wildness turned
they became
civilization
for one another.
if it all ended
and only these two were left
mankind would still come out okay.

— Milwaulkee Airport, 3-17-10
coming home from a wedding.

gauche
17 Mar 10