I need you gently in my life
though not wanted as your wife

I need you somehow in my life

will it not go away?
the string that binds and holds us
frays

I need you somewhere in my life

recalling songs and lessons
say
words like
love and sharing
play

I need you softly in my life

that family web of times
times shared, times spared
were yours and mine
yours and mine

I need you steady in my life

what expansive fears
course throughout the years
to grind the path
of love
and tears

I need you simply in my life