Please come again. Any night and stay awhile. Give me
more than a glimpse of your face. More than
a slippery shadow from morning’s last dream before I wake,
left with wispy memory of a car ride, my amazement
when the white-haired driver turns to me and it’s you. Please
visit again. I want to climb back into that dream, reach over,
touch your arm and say Hi, Dad. See you smile, hear your raspy
Well, hello there Susie. Please stay awhile. We could take
our time, cruise through a balmy Florida evening in your yellow
Mustang convertible. Stop at Pepe’s Cantina and order
the huevos rancheros you loved. We could linger
over beers, laugh at family stories. The ones I’m afraid
I’m starting to forget. Please come visit again. Any night and stay awhile.
Susan Rothlein began studying and writing poetry after moving to Asheville in 2010. She often finds inspiration while taking walks, working in her garden, and sometimes in her dreams.