Poem From June 22, 2014
Ode to a Jacket & a Memory
I held onto you on the back of your motorcycle
I'd never ridden pillion before
A black windbreaker & a blue denim jacket
Protected me from the dry, January weather in Las Vegas
And the rushing air as we breezed down the streets.
It was not the only thing encouraging me
To tighten my arms around your waist.
It is hard to part with one of the few
Physical connections I have to that visit.
Before that trip, I had no appropriate riding clothes
I picked up boots & outerwear at a thrift store lost to memory
Somewhere in Los Angeles County.
That was over 4 years ago.
In a few more months, it will be 2 years since
You sacrificed yourself to
Your beloved city of San Francisco.
Today, in the process of giving away old clothes
I stared at that denim jacket in my closet
Now oversized; too big to wear.
In this Fresno summer heat
I contemplated this blue jacket's known history
And what it means to me.
The Samples sang: "We all move on."
You have.
I am.
And as I took it off the hanger
Folding it lovingly, and adding it
To the giveaway bag
I knew that the jacket will too.
I held onto you on the back of your motorcycle
I'd never ridden pillion before
A black windbreaker & a blue denim jacket
Protected me from the dry, January weather in Las Vegas
And the rushing air as we breezed down the streets.
It was not the only thing encouraging me
To tighten my arms around your waist.
It is hard to part with one of the few
Physical connections I have to that visit.
Before that trip, I had no appropriate riding clothes
I picked up boots & outerwear at a thrift store lost to memory
Somewhere in Los Angeles County.
That was over 4 years ago.
In a few more months, it will be 2 years since
You sacrificed yourself to
Your beloved city of San Francisco.
Today, in the process of giving away old clothes
I stared at that denim jacket in my closet
Now oversized; too big to wear.
In this Fresno summer heat
I contemplated this blue jacket's known history
And what it means to me.
The Samples sang: "We all move on."
You have.
I am.
And as I took it off the hanger
Folding it lovingly, and adding it
To the giveaway bag
I knew that the jacket will too.