April 1: Wonder Twin, Mark Strand, "The Remains"

I have been lucky for almost twenty years.  I have had a job that has allowed me to work with one of my best friends.  For long-time readers of this blog, I have called her Wonder Twin in the past.  She and I are so alike, it feels as if we were separated at birth.

Well, at the end of this coming week, Wonder Twin will be cleaning out her locker at work and saying goodbye.  She has taken another job, and I will no longer be seeing her on a daily basis.  I have been having a very hard time with this reality.  In fact, I don't know exactly how I'm going to deal with it.

It's not like I'm never going to see Wonder Twin again, but our times together will be much more limited.  Possibly just once a month.  That makes me very sad.  It's almost as if I have to empty out a certain part of my past.  Take that shoe box out, sort through its contents, and, piece-by-piece, say "goodbye."

Saint Marty is thankful that Wonder Twin has been in his life, helping him through some really shitty times.

The Remains

by:  Mark Strand

I empty myself of the names of others. I empty my pockets.
I empty my shoes and leave them beside the road.
At night I turn back the clocks;
I open the family album and look at myself as a boy.

What good does it do? The hours have done their job.
I say my own name. I say goodbye.
The words follow each other downwind.
I love my wife but send her away.

My parents rise out of their thrones
into the milky rooms of clouds. How can I sing?
Time tells me what I am. I change and I am the same.
I empty myself of my life and my life remains.