To say I felt a loss wasn’t exactly it.
It’s just that a wind blew
and I wasn’t exactly sure where it was
coming from. Several tall candles stood
unlit. A piece of land left undeveloped.
Who would buy it? Would they use it
to raise donkeys, horses, cows? None
of the neighbors could be sure.
Meanwhile, we had to get up
each day, put on our socks and
other things, go to work, and pretend
not to think about any of it. The
more we pretended, the more it felt
real.