My neighbor died the other day
Of causes which I cannot say I knew.
For forty years we lived across the street
And shared a view of falling leaves
In autumn’s time, as well as budding trees
When spring would come around
With all those sounds of souciant birds
That sing unloved in peaceful towns.
And if by chance we got to meet
Amid the dance of daily chores,
We never knew quite what to say
Beyond a friendly loose-limbed wave,
Or quickly said, “How goes the day?”
In time we saw each other age;
Our hair grew grey and health declined,
But still we never spoke the thoughts
That truly weighed upon our minds.
And yet I think that I will miss
Her presence in my clouded sight,
Her wraith like form across our street,
That shuffled through abrasive nights.
Surfing past the darkened seas,
She’s cast upon some sifting shore,
Scrubbed translucent by the sand,
To disappear and be no more.
- Finding the Light of G‑d, page 93