You couldn't help but show
You had that far-off look
Basked in sunset's rustic glow
On the narrow cravice of a brook

Bluebirds tendered offerings
Of avian melody and rhyme
You were silent as the springs
And measured as the pace of time

I tried to catch your silver eye
To raise your quicksand laugh
I thought: what mysteries might lie
Deep inside that wayward bluff

The rattled eve had quivered up
Expecting wind or fearing rain
I drank my poison from your cup
Full of distant, cool disdain

We gathered home in file
On the crooked dirt road trail
It might as well have been a mile
Between us, in that narrow vale

The air was fresh and clear
As if to mock my mellow mood
You were at once so near
And far, in the quiet hilltop wood

I thought I heard you say something
I turned to ask you what it was
You shook your head, just listening
As if disturbed by distant noise

We parted where the road forks
In haste, you said goodbye
I waited for the fireworks
To watch the last light die