– in dedication to M. Chadwick
but I loved you
before they filled you with stars
before they took you on a moonless night
but I loved you
even with dignity and sadness
and now longing nights free from hearts pang
but I loved you
in gypsy bars and back alleys
before poets were villains, while harmless
but I loved you
even when we roamed the streets
cracking fingers, drinking whiskey, before the dawn
but I loved you
I love you now, we sing you
on porches, in backyards, in cities across the world
– Hoc Scripsi
the platitudes of willful resemblance 