Come Back, Come Back

You emptied the house
of your footsteps,
silenced the mornings
without your voice,
left me my reflection
for company—what a world
to live in!
I’ll mow down the miles,
sack up the wasted hours,
shut out the wind that
blew up the storm.
Listen, the garden’s weedy,
the lawn unkempt,
birds sing off-key . . .
Come back, come back,
raise the shades, make the beds,
throw out the withered flowers,
tie the shoestrings
of my footloose heart.