If You Find No Poem

If You Find No Poem

If you find
no poem on
your doorstep
in the morning,
no paper, no knock on your door,
and your life is poorly edited
but no broken dashes
or injured meter
and you don't wear white
dresses late in life
embroidered with violet
flowers on the collar;
nor do you have
burials daily
across main street,
and no one whispers
in your ear, Emily Dickinson --
you feel alone --
but not reclusive --
the sand lady
still sleeping in your eyes --
wiping your tears away --
if you find
no poem on
your doorstep --
you know you're not
from New England.

-2007-