You told me so much
In the living room
And on the porch
And by the pool
While the sun was going red
And the children played on plastic beds

We went deep as women will
When husbands misbehave
Or migraines break

Mindy with your hats and ruffles
Irregular, frowning
But not from disappointment or despair
It was something I felt
That made me wonder
Made me scared

Harmonica to lips
Violin, guitars, keys, voice of course
And incidentally, mandolin
You practiced years and days and hours
Before the show was to begin

Her mind at peace
She loved the chaos
Stole the show so modestly, It almost didn't occur to me

The stage, the way her legs and hips
Would ground and sway
Her body poised and entering, the souls
Of Junior Wells, Mahalia Jackson, Sleepy John, Blind Blake
Memphis Minnie, Bukka White---The blues for God Damn Sake!

Chin upturned, eyelids closed,
Transported, courted by the Muse
The deepest South, Ireland too
A mix of races
With just a trace of Northern graces
Like grass mowed in a linear way
I loved this girl I love today

I told you so much in the car
Backstage, tuning our guitars

When you were thin
I couldn't ask you how you are
But I knew something and it made me scared
It crowded in on my house and yours
The violence of the unsaid word

Your leaving left me in the car
Cold. Not warmed by modern ways
Chilled, not lulled by the broken bits in the blackened air
Just alone
A single scar
Somewhere stranded in a car
Somewhere

Misha, Zaya, Jacob, Zaya, Misha
The bees are at the hive
And the stars, like wind, and windswept rain
Rustle through the sky