for Patrick
I taste the freedom that you feel
in your long-legged skinny jeans
in your cruising-along dreams
trekking on the seawall
not looking for a port call
boogying to nowhere
trying not to get there
I feel the beauty that you see
when you reach out to the past
when life wasn’t fast
when you’re soaking up a Monet
puzzling on a Dali
when you admire young Keats
and recite old Yeats
I see the pain that you sense
when you see our world at war
when you wonder what for
when the white picket fence
comes at someone’s expense
when you want to console
but you don’t know your role
I sense the lightness that you share
when you palm spin a stop
and make your skateboard pop
when you’re rappin’ a beat
and just dancin’ in the heat
when you throw us your word play
to improve on our work day
I see the warmth that you bring
when we’ve landed in the stress zone
where the path is so windblown
For your special brand of levity
and compassion for humanity
makes us feel like trying again
makes us feel like smiling again