It was April 20th
when I took you out on the balcony
into the sun
and you died,
looking up
And I took you back to your bed
and lay next to you, crying,
looking up
And I saw two lights,
one yellow, one blue
and I had to let go
and let you be together
And I checked my phone
And I don’t know how many people had wished me a
Happy 4-20
Happy 4-20
Happy 4-20
Yeah…
I’ll light up a candle instead
It was April 20th
when I came to see you again,
this time in New York
This time it was pouring rain
and I said,
“Did you do this on purpose?”
Fitting, you’re the kind of melodramatic woman who would want a rainstorm on a day like this.
Well, I thought,
I just have to get over the Whitestone Bridge
in my little rental Mazda
but not without hydroplaning on the Hutch.
And I started feeling lonely and afraid.
And I said, OK,
Alright,
Focus, just
sing, just
keep yourself company
And as I hit the high note
in the EZ Pass lane
I had to stop.
In front of me, you were there
in a Subaru Forrester –
Anyway, the license plate bore your initials
And I checked the calendar
and it was still April 20th.
And I thought,
Just stay behind this car and you’ll be safe.
I was on 678 –
the road split, but you knew where I was going so I followed
and I was safe.
And I made it all the way to College Point Boulevard
and you didn’t take the exit.
“Goodbye,” I said,
“I’ll see you soon,”
and you saluted me with your right-turn signal
and the wind.
Looking down,
I saw two stones
on which I placed two more
to hold down two poems,
one for each of you.
This time I didn’t cry.
And I had to let go
and let us be together.

EJZ 4.20.2015
Dedicated to ALZ
3.30.1952 – 4.20.2013