All That Passes
(for Don)
All that passes, passes in between
From hand to hand, from life to life.
The day's complex and far-flung plans
Are left or lost, displaced by this:
A single, storm-washed shell, intact
And honored, not for what it is,
But for its passing, you to me.
God alone sees our intent
And God, I guess, is satisfied.
That I can hold you thus is thus enough
To thread a delicate and lasting grace
Through every difficult love.
February 17, 1999