The Yes In Me Poem by RIC BASTASA

my yes is
cautious

it starts with an
if

if i say yes
then what will i give

what will i lose?
there is always a but
now

unlike before
when my eyes were young


and too sheltered for
harsh lights

i know
how to give now without losing

if i say yes
and if i give something

i always take back
the silence of


my own consequences
in a box

when both of us leave
there will be no word

not a word shall be
wasted for it is expensive


perhaps just a glance
and then you hear footsteps


outside the door
some children will laugh

and then the rain
yes just the rain on the road

nothing more
not even the clicking of an umbrella

unless
you decide to follow like a kitten

but by then
you will have no name of a street

and i too will be
another coat wearing passenger

in that train
going elsewhere to an address unrevealed to anyone