Wishes

I've been told to stop apologizing
for things over which no one has 

any control. And yet, all these years,
I still can't stop saying I'm sorry

for the circumstances that made  
the distances I thought we were 

trying in our own way to bridge 
now seem insurmountable. To say

I no longer want to have anything
to do with you is a choice, just as

it is to say I would not close that 
door completely. Every day, I fan 

my wishes out like cards on the table. 
That wherever you are, mornings 

are gentle and the winds warm; that you 
understand your name could never be 

spoken in anger. That remembrance 
walks behind us quietly, but following.