Never have I known — for Ariel

Never have I known

someone to smile so wide– discerning and kind

of like those moments that we spent taming our brains

to recognize structures, pathways, and it pains

me to ever think that– that same perfect cascade of dreams

could fall upon you suddenly, unravelled at seams

so beautifully cast, so brightly loved, so longing

at last to hold your head, its perfectly seated crown

in some final at last, the ending that’s sung

from the mountains to oceans, still– your lapping sea-song

is contained, unabashed, in the people you loved.