-for JG in Durango
Drained of her usual rosy cheeks
after weeks in the hospital
her pallor nearly alabaster
but still handsome
the light playing up her soft features
Painter of mountain landscapes
rough-hewn, angular
large canvases suffused with
still-life swirls of dark color
Now still herself, barely moving
almost colorless, near death
We kissed when I came to visit
Her request. Moving around
to the free side of the bed
I sat down as one kneels in a church
She held my hand
tapping lightly at irregular intervals
as though half-phantom already
relaying messages from beyond the veil
Not exactly angel wings by Rubens
but almost
She touched my face
Caressed my chin
Her hand intent on an intimacy
we never shared in life as friends
It/ki felt like a benediction
when she brushed the hair
back from my eyes
