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A measure of heartbeats

stone path, water, lamplight

in branches spread over a bridge

a measure of heartbeats

*****

Hero and Leander (the lamp and the water)

I still walk to that lake, the surface now still,
absence of geometry, ache of tranquility,

a voice but a whisper
soothing, sad, a silver
thorn in the side of love.

What love creates, need destroys.

We put flowers on the table
at the change of the season.

Then the rains came. We watched
through the kitchen window.
You turned out the lamp.

“I love you more than I need you,” I said.
“Now I know what that means.”
But need, the ache, the silver thorn,
will have its bloody day.

Time passes. Seasons change.

When I walk to the lake I stir the surface,
the glitter of sun, a dangerous swell,
my hand beginning to move
into place a geometry
of memories.  

Copyright © 2025 Gary Gautier

These poems are found in Gary’s new poetry collection, The Day We Met in Earthly Time (Shakemyheadhollow.com press, 2024).

Author Biography

Award-winning writer, Gary Gautier, has taught university writing and literature and given numerous radio interviews. His previous poetry book, Schematics and Assemblies of the Cosmic Heart, was shortlisted for the Faulkner-Wisdom Poetry Prize, and his novels have earned a #1 Amazon bestseller rank in two categories. His latest novel, Alice, was selected for the Innovative Fiction Book Club, and a screenplay adaptation of his novel, Mr. Robert’s Bones, made the second round at the Austin Film Festival. Gary has hitchhiked through 19 countries and 35 US states, and currently lives in the pueblos mágicos of Mexico.

web: www.garygautier.weebly.com

blog: www.shakemyheadhollow.com

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