LETTER FROM BOSTON
1999

Before the century
is over
wanting to clothe
myself in sunshine
among syllables
of my ink dream's
quilted eye
amid a candle's
brief coffee house time
sweeping away
the dust of indifference
with chimeras
of a poet's recognition
as a butterfly circles
on my balcony
overlooking Revere beach
you know life is only
a dress rehearsal
from our sleep walks
on shapeless pillows
when thresholds open
on reality
from ghostly air vents
on my back porch
reading your letter
posted from Boston
with images of dawn
taking the blue envelope
and pressing
the landmark corners
as a sign an era is gone.