Mountain Ritual Poem by Francisco R. Albano

(a valentine poem of long ago)

When I miss your presence
And love must traverse highways
And courage climb mountains,
I conduct the ritual of a poem
To hold in consciousness our being.
I want us as precise image
For new life from the word
Of music and silence, more assertive
Than Wagner’s horns above violins,
But as haunting as a flute astray
Running after a memory and some promise.
This time the event shall not be
Of, say, the Red flag around our shoulders
And comrades gathered around
To receive us for the people.
This time I decide on a quiet evening,
Table for two by candlelight,
Food and wine untouched,
You looking into my eyes and waiting
For me to extricate surprise from
My heart, and I can only
Cough.