Remembering Linda Rae York

Roanoke & Lexington Virginia 1962

Daniel Friedman

Far off car, radio plays,
deep in night, stand and gaze,
by Roanoke's star, ruby haze.
Soft, her voice, sapphire eyes,
Linda's look, solemn sighs.

Misty too the future lays
summers lost, winters days
sudden endings by surprise
secrets tell not how they died
cruel love ended, ugly lies.

Promised lonely lives unmade,
moments lost too many days
far off lovers wander'd crazed,
left quite dark, broken ways.
Heavy heartsongs still get played

Wrinkled face, hair quite gray,
nightly memory sadly strays,
to sleepless time, to lonely maze
abandoned dreams, misty gaze
faroff eyes, soft, blue, gray.

Her summer voice on mountains made
sweet gentle music, passing played,
echoed answers quickly fade,
so swiftly gone, so saddened days,
unforgiven, cruel, passed that way.

A Coward's Secret

Motel door bursts open, raged,
he programmed robot crazed
leans breathless, a phone booth!
dials, lies, ugly, uncouth,
zombie, repreats words, untruth.

"I don't love you" quick he lies
"I don't believe you" hard she cries.
Tears stream down both their faces.
Love dies and lost embraces,
faint, each falls, alone, aside.

In Lex motel tealanddan
sigh relief at their young man
whose course they've set
whose death they get
and now they rest.

A decade lay, then more
Thanksgiving day implores
he calls her mother just once more
"She's not here" she lies
"Leave her alone" she cries

As close as breath
her voice, her scent
guilty sorrows, senses rent
the truth lies hidden
the story, unbidden.

Perhaps she's forgotten
that call misbegotten
she sweet, he rotten,
she off to nurse
he lost, cursed.

Each day he dies
from coward's lies
his truth untold,
her truth disguised,
death, unrealized.