as in crossing over
one line crossing the other
as though a canceling out
no longer existing
as in our neighbor Mary
who lived on the other side
of the fence
who died the other day
and i weep as she is no longer
and just a month ago
there were xxxs i left
at the bottom of a note
replying to her final goodbye
final words to those she loved
and i couldn’t say i will miss you
though i would so xxxs
perhaps a bit of disguise
not really a kiss
almost like x as that unknown
quantity or variable
that may or may not pertain
because i always hesitate
or feel the uncertainty
in moments like these
and then i think about
the mysterious that lies
behind those xxxs because
the x of kisses is a particularly
ambiguous sign-off isn’t it
and i do miss Mary
that day she died x’d out
as though it didn’t count
as time was lifted
from the space it carries
or space was lifted from time
that absence surely exists
the blot of x the not the no more
like the x of an incorrect answer
