Where Were You? Poem by RIC BASTASA

where were you when
i needed you?

i spilled some lima beans in my bed
and my wife shall gather them all to me
and i ask her
how many are these beans specifically

it will take her time

i spilled ketsup in my white shirt
and my wife will have to clean it for me
she will wash it
with soap and water and dry it in the sun

it will take her time

so, let me tell you i am thinking of you
while she picks the lima beans and counts them
in specific numbers

so let me tell you that i am thinking of you
when she washes my clothes and make them
all clean for me

so i will look like a decent man

let me tell frankly that i think of you while we make love
you are the bulb lighting in the darkness of my mind

i am so unkind
i am thinking of you

where were you when i needed you?

you are always in my mind.
that is your place, only in my mind

my wife is beside me.
she is concrete love to me.

your place is only in my mind
and you
cannot touch me.

like a cloud you will be here for the meantime
the right wind comes
and drifts you away

and you will no longer be in my mind

i guess things will turn out right
when the right wind comes along.

you are just a blue, ephemeral cloud.