Are You Leaving?

Will I forget you
As my body stiffens
With age
As my fingers
Which once stroked your face
Bulge at their joints?

Will your memory dim
Along with my eyes
And the gleam of the sun recedes
As the glow of the moon fades
Will you leave
Along with light and shadow?

Will I lose you, too?
When my arteries harden
Will thoughts of you crust and break?
When I can no longer stand
Will your dear memory
Lay amid the clutter?

When taste becomes dust
Will I forget your sweetness
The ripe fruit of spring
Like jam on my tongue
Tart and dulcet
In my mouth?

Must I lose your voice
When my ears grow dull
When music ceases to please me
And the song of morning flies
And the droning cicadas die in the trees
Will the tintinnabulation of your voice leave?

Will you become a stranger
From whom I hide
In the shadows of alleys
And recessed doorways?
Will the knowledge of you
Chase me down dreams of foreboding streets?

Tell me, dear
Will I lose you, too?
Are you going
The way of autumn leaves
Along with the fire’s embers in my hearth?
I must know.

Are you leaving, too?