THE HEALER
Ten Poems by Leonardo Dellarocca

for Janet

You live with someone who is crazy.
You're sure of it.
It will take years,
but you can heal her.
You lay your hands on her
while she sleeps.
Even with it off, the television
flickers in the dark.
After awhile, you notice
how hot your hands have become.
As if they knew it would rain.
Or the time she turned to tell you something
and you already knew.
She knew you knew.
You started singing
the day she came home with windchimes,
hung them in the room you sleep in
afternoons.
She loves to watch you sleep.
Cooks for you
all the food you love.
Always.
Her voice carries something in it-
a storm, a story about a man
who touched the eyes of the dead.
Her hands in your hair
have become unspeakable things.
It has taken years,
but she has healed you.