Absence Muse

by Les

How many words are there for loss? There is
absence, by which we mean molecules of air
space dust between the planets’ orbits.
The cosmos is full of holes, too many people
with missing features. The ex on Face-
book, the vampire in the mirror. And you—
the nothing in the circle of the searchlight.
There is change, by which we mean our species’
emergence from sea, our fins

evolving into limbs. The story of things
becoming other things, mermaid to foam,
cocoon to wings. And then there’s death
by which we mean how the branch
bows with the weight of fruit
before the fall. Or if you like

the single-minded riot of vines
until the trellis runs out.
You are, my dear, the empty air.