To Emily and Her Friends

I'd like to be one
of your friends and maybe
from a distance I will.

You don't seem the "snob" poet type-
just a whole lot better than present company.
I can't really hold that against you.

But how did you do it?
bottled up inside so often
away; far far away
yet with such passion and flavor
did you spike the language that we taste,
savor
and still are clueless to your recipe.

You seemed to live life to the fullest
in such a solitude
yet you bore your soul open
like bare breasts for all to see
and they were different from the rest.

You spoke of death with the authority
of one who has been on that side
still your words live in the tender
and the most sensual sides of life.

I might just be your friend too;
from a distance.