Poem: If I Forget You

--to M.

If I forget you,
May the leaves that swirl
On streets in fall
Lie still.

If I forget you,
May the opalescent sky
Turn green
And black tornadoes
Shred the buildings
On the ground.

If I forget you,
May time
Run fast and draw me swiftly
Toward the blackness
At its end.

If I forget you,
May hornets
Swarming in their quilted nest
Burst forth and sting
My faithless heart to death,
If I forget you.

Copyright 2006 by M. David Orr