John Sarvay - Elegy for September 10

Before all of our totems fell, you drew
A talisman on my forehead – I prayed

For a late harvest and rose like a
Steel-eyed crow, scouring

As many grains as I could devour before the last
Burnt vestiges of summer sloughed from my skin;

Before the light touch of early wind could suggest
Our search for conclusions was at an end. That last New

York night, we sat in Astoria. Hope sparked. I took in
The darkening skyline, struggled against sleep, dared

Dream of a future again. Had I been a better alchemist
I would not have nursed this, would have slipped away

From the past to blend memories like a salve,
Muddling with the practiced ease of one who works to forget

Everything, even instinct. Flying out of Manhattan that morning,
I left behind something more beautiful than any scar

I’d ever unpeeled. It was as promising
A morning since our demise was first revealed.

John Sarvay

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/elegy-for-september-10/