You never told me of those uneven
sidewalks, protruding in corners
and downpours of rain
creating sink pools of sewerage.
I guess the opportunity never surfaced,
so I had no appointment to grieve your pain.
Didn’t recognize any outward signs,
like mud caked to your soles.
With no chance for hope to repair,
I shake my head, a little.
If I had questions,
they didn’t matter anymore.
The tides will slowly recede,
wash away the anguish.
Robert Savino, Suffolk County Poet Laureate 2015-2017, is a native Long Islander, and a Board Member at both the Walt Whitman Birthplace & the Long Island Poetry & Arts Archival Center. He is the winner of the 2008 Oberon Poetry Prize. His first collection is, Inside a Turtle Shell.
