To my questioner, so she might rest

I don't know what to tell you.
And even if I did know,
believe me --
I'd tell myself first.

Your whos and whats and whys
must have bounced off the walls
of my heart,
they echo so familiar ...

And your whens and hows and ifs --
How many dreamy nights have those same
question marks
stolen from me in this life?

If only I knew. (You'd know too.)

If I knew only. (And felt never.)

If I knew only this. (Our nights would fill again.)

When we're tracing deep wrinkles,
maybe that's when the answer will
emerge. And
then we'll laugh, talk of other things

because it won't be so impressive
after all

and we will realize that we
always knew.