The Philosopher and His Maureen - 1973

Taking for granted
your need and your warmth
Taking for granted
tomorrow

I silently sit
with a book in hand
and silently, so silently
leave you

Gone to the mountains
of philosphy and men
gone in pursuit of
meaning

While you, painfully wait
for my return to you
while you pray
that I won't be long

Nietzsche, Buber
Spinoza and Leibniz
compete for my eyes
and my time

And you, so quiet, so sad
yet so calm
and you, wait
you, whom I call my wife

- - - - -

There is no doubt that all of us regret some of the small things of our life, things which in the larger picture end up not being so small at all. I guess, that in being able to recognize my disappearances into my head so early has allowed me to consciously make more time for those who are around me. It is difficult to be present, impossible to do it all the time. For a philosophical poet, it may be the most difficult of all tasks. More than 35 years later, I am still married to this woman, and I still disappear into inner spaces.