Naked

On the edge of the refrigerator
with a magnet
i stick the list of people whom I love

then wonder
if they are wearing green tonight

or sleeping naked
having made love
they dream of some summer day
in New Hampshire
years ago
when i was young
and thing
and almost beautiful.

if they are wearing blue tonight

or, awake, they sit in their underwear
having had some lousy meal
only a few short hours ago
they digest the loss of another
dreamless day

removed from spring
and lost in a meaningless hope
of future leaves budding on
saplings descended from those
undying Mountain Giants.

if they are wearing purple
today, somewhere far away

perhaps, they stand regal and
think of me naked writing poetry

or, they cry alone
in yellow -- for the dead
and dying.