On the Eve of Your Leaving
By Liam McEneaney

Hand in hand we walked, as children,
As though these past fifteen years
Had been bridged by a day.

Time has brushed you with its feathered grace,
And the years have slipped like shadows ‘neath the door.
Time has traced its lines upon your hands.
Hands that guide me now, for once for all,
That guide me now and hold my heart steady.

We sat there atop a roof in Brooklyn,
The lights of Manhattan, precious jewels
Set in the dark velvet band of night.
You asked if I wanted to let my feet hang,
Dangling over the edge of the abyss,
Little knowing I had already plunged
Down into the warm space between your lips,
Down into the warmth of that first kiss.

I slipped into you,
Into your conversation,
As easily as a newborn soul
Slips into its first skin.

You lay on a bench ‘neath the city’s only willow,
Clumsy fingers stroking your sleepy black hair
That spreads like night across the soft heart of my lap
Serving for your pillow.

And I looked up, and through the willow branches,
Past the city lights, to the three lonely stars.
A V of white birds, their soft bellies glowing
Tiny moons floating ghostly in the dark.

A shirt with safety pins trailing down its front
Stairs that trembling fingers climb
To your chin, and holding your cheek
And lips that meet in the fire of moonshine.

I hold your hand, and my heart beats faster,
For now you must leave, though I know I’m not ready.
So I hold your hand longer, just one heartbeat longer.
Your hand on my heart, now hold my heart steady.

I hope that California holds
Whatever you were looking for,
And I hope that California knows
The peace that you were seeking
And I hope that when you find these things,
You bring them home to me.