Evening Comes in a Hurry (To Nikki)

Evening Comes in a Hurry
To Nikki
 
Evening comes in a hurry
Or not at all as
I ache for dawn
No dreams
No awakening
Black orchards of sleep
 
Instead of making copies of
Your death certificate
I would rather be riding a gentle horse
Through the waning yellow day
With you
With you
Smiling flowers
Breathing stars of eyes shining
Your grace in the ether
Your place in the other unknown
 
You left a hole no ocean
Or green mountains can fill
 
Yet you bring me rose stones and pink shells
Gathered between
Floods of tears
Sweet slices of orange
I am told I must be kind
To myself
As my grief devours the sun.