Joan
We talk of the need to drop needing
and yet we're so happy to see each other.
I can hear those soft wings, again.
gallagher
20 Feb 86
— Copyright 1965-2008 by Dennis Gallagher —
Joan comes and begins to give me such pleasure
but I'm not sure what I see or how I feel.
My attraction and affection for her are strong.
She drifts in and out of my thoughts all day long
but Lise has taken me apart so throughly
that I cannot see Joan as my 'next' woman.
I don't know what I would've seen or felt
if I had met Joan before Lise.
And, now that I'm here on the other side,
nothing is familiar.
She's young and intelligent and spiritual
and I can see she's beginning to care for me.
It's all new. Every thought and passion,
every dream and fear.
I've traveled so far. I can meet her here
but I cannot tell her where we are.
gallagher
2 Mar 86
— Copyright 1965-2008 by Dennis Gallagher —
Joan arrives and brings
vulnerability, doubt and joy.
I'm scared to death of her
for the way she uncenters me.
What is it she does to me?
Like quicksilver she seeps so quickly
into my secret heart.
In mere days I've come to crave her smile
and fear her loss.
All my previous composure is gone
in a week's time.
Am I this vulnerable now, after Lise?
Will I be swept away again and again?
Is this something real or just a rebound?
And everytime my fear gives me pause
she comes and shares a secret space
and I'm gone further
into a place
I know less and less.
gallagher
4 Mar 86
— Copyright 1965-2008 by Dennis Gallagher —