For MichaelThe river of night liftsfrom the shadows with dawn. You lived from mealto meal, joint to joint, pill to pill, sustainedby your mother’s care. The river of night flows throughthe emptiness in the atoms of our flesh. The river of night rubs everyshining with soot and ash. To you who vanished in the dawn,chased away by rising light,may the river of night carry youinto union with your deepest wish.