Hat My Patience As Ever Is Ocean Wide. Poem by RIC BASTASA

i am one of those
trees
could be that to me
i am still alive

no, i am a rock, but
deep within is this
conversation that negates
what a rock is

there is always a talking
self unto itself
a dream inside a cabinet
skeletons in my closet
worms in my own can
dirty linens in my own
yard, the sun looks down
upon me, seed without glory.

all the while, i have
always been air to you
i am inside your lungs
which you have not really
noticed. it is I,
who is making you alive.

youth, how cruel are you
not to know my name which i
have carved in stone for years

your tight skin,
you bright eyes,
the clarity of your memory
the careless happy disposition
which i have all spent
lost and missed.

promise me tonight that
you will never ask again
why i still love you.

promise me not to ask
about my foolishness.
i have too what you do not
have, and you have what
i do not have.

turn off the light. Let us
play what we lack. Let us
complete this puzzle this
guilt, this disguise.

youth and wisdom, how do
you compliment each other
now to survive the storm
of loneliness?

you are playful. I am serious.
you are lost. Be calm. Do not
panic. for i have found you.
do not tell someone who would
be envious about this...
that i have loved you
that you are loved
and that my patience as ever
is ocean wide.