Lakes of Darkness, A Poem by John Coyne (Ethiopia 1962-64)

Lakes of Darkness

In Memory of A.J. Montesi

He came to this green shore
From loneliness of bachelor nights,
Empty Sundays,
A year of failing dreams,
Mirrored into miseries.

From semesters of faculty treachery,
Misdemeanors in the hall.
Months of silly students,
Who turned his kindness
Into youthful gall.

A little man,
Who wears his age with grace;
He brought to me
A spirit bent from a life of
Use.

We slid the books aside;
Fished for trout off the point.
I caught a fighting rainbow
Who fought my arching pole
Desperate for its life.

Another trout flipped in space for flies
Then slid again to darkness.
That slap of water brought
To mind our own fixed lives.

He saw himself
In a shrinking world
Where good men fashion
Wars with words.

I knew his history
As I know my own.
We all have lakes of darkness,
Not to seek in refuge,
But to light with love.

John Coyne (Ethiopia 1962-64)