Giã biệt Valediction

Valediction

Lady with the frilled blouse
And simple tartan skirt,
Since you have left the house
Its emptiness has hurt

All thought. In your presence
Time rode easy, anchored
On a smile; but absence
Rocked love's balance, unmoored

The days. They buck and bound
Across the calendar
Pitched from the quiet sound
Of your flower-tender

Voice. Need breaks on my strand;
You've gone, I am at sea.
Until you resume command
Self is in mutiny.