after Baldwinsville

after Baldwinsville

there along the road
the old familiar pain
caved me in.

I was ready to quit
that traveling
that road
that everything,

but your voice
pulled me upright
stood me up
put me back
together.

"we're stopping early,"
you announced.

that night,
along Lake Oneida,
your perfect hands
coaxed me
from despair to desire.