see you there

once we were five
but now we are four
and not one of us thought of you
as leading the way
into the darkness or the light

you were always bravado, bluster and bull
i think of your last words to me
no regrets
i didn't hear all those words said
didn't hear you say goodbye
but i never believed you anyway
rarely liked what you did
and still don't

damn you
knowing and not telling
where you were going
you could have eased our way
and us yours but you did not

the hounds just bayed sad calls
as you listened to the night settle in
even the dogs could grieve
as i cannot

did you ever care for anyone but yourself

i fear the hell hounds follow
the scent of pain you laid down
along the path of life
it will be a lifetime or two
before tears and rising rivers
wash away
the tormented echoes of your life

and damn you again
you'd never could listen worth a shit
you could never share worth a damn either

and being last, youngest and female,
odds are
i will see them all go before me
join you or not
and i too will go alone
and i do not know if I will see you there
 
 

May 1, 2001
Nancy Faye Hill
copyright 2001
all rights reserved
 

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