I pour amber medicine for my pains
on rocks, then sip the talismanic cure.
It cools my burning throat, but fear sustains.
The sting of being left behind remains;
the path ahead is weedy and unsure.
I pour amber medicine for my pains.
At times my swollen tongue is trapped in chains
self-fastened. An ego pierced is a poor
excuse for the misery it sustains.
Exhale resistance, the yoga guide declaims,
and treat yourself as if this life were pure.
I pour amber medicine for my pains.
Revolving earth neither waits nor explains
its cryptic course; I’ve no choice but to endure
alone, avoiding comfort that sustains
Until your voice transits on a wintry day,
along a glowing wavelength of azure.
I show amber medicine to the drain.
We loved. And that certainty sustains.
published in My Edmonds News