“For Johnny”
When falling leaves sigh, trembling to the ground
and brilliant gold is sprinkled everywhere,
I’m glad to hear your laughter mid the sound
of steps that shuffle up abandoned stair.
When scarlet leaves crush, hesitant to part
lay deep in dusty shadows, they intone
and whisper we are here as all our heart
holds sad farewell to memories we’ve known.
When days grow long with bitterness of soul
among the frost and starry branches bare,
remember yet your humor I still hold
before the light grows dull to dark despair.
Once more I sense your autumn presence dance
among the jeweled leaves mid our romance.
The Johnny in the poem dear to me. We met, age 12, at a Junior High School dance. My dress a yellow, silky, full-circle skirt with tiny waist, ballerina slippers and a white, cotton peasant blouse with blue embroidered flowers around the neckline. I was a skinny kid.
Johnny was a fat little freckled-face boy with a big smile and lots of charm. He glittered in his blue plaid sport jacket that felt ‘scratchy’ when I danced with him. Unimpressed, there was no love at first sight in 1946 but the dance continued on until February, 2009 when I lost him to cancer some 63 years later. It was quite a dance and he was quite a guy!
Painting: Modigliani.
