LEAN INTO A SHADOW

LEAN INTO A SHADOW

They gather in a kitchen,
they gather in a parlor,
drinking beer and whiskey
I am glued to a table.

Too young for spirits, but
old enough to know you
didn't want to hug her -
never wanted to touch her
I didn't want to touch you
either.

Watched all of them talking
drinking, laughing -
I stared at you – if eyes
could kill they would have -
I watched you stand, leave
the house, smoke a cigarette
behind the old barn. . .

Your fake sadness,
sucking down beer – shots
of whiskey, just another
drunken day – you see
only a few people really
knew you – they never
came to comfort you –

I watched you hug a
child - shook hands as
If it were just another
day, smiled at friends
and neighbors - even
bounced a baby on your lap,
sitting next to me -

They should have put you
inside a wooden box -
not her!!
Those stark eyes dart in
my direction...
I turn to look the other
Way.

You stood above me, touched
my shoulder, as shivers
slid down my spine...

No one in the kitchen or the
parlor, really knew you. All
of them grieving, spilling drinks
on velvet chairs -
enjoying all the food
neighbors brought to share.

Obvious I detested you,
I made you invisible, long ago.
And, God blessed this child,
took her away from you
before she grew.

Your disappearance perfect
and we wanted it that way!
Twenty five years it took
to notice you, a stranger -
tall, slender, leaning into
his own shadow, on her
wedding day.

Sunset to the West,
your nothingness of face
preserved my sanity

Nancy Duci Denofio
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