by Michael Yaworsky

       Full Circle #1:  Continuity


	So I went to the K-Mart and bought two cards
	laid them on the counter
	the checkout clerk picked them up	
	looked at them
	looked at me
	passed some moments taking in their meaning
	one card said, “In Deepest Sympathy”
	the other, “Congratulations on your new baby!”
		
	The first one was for Molly and Ron
	my two best friends
	their son had just died from cancer
	he was 14-and-a-half
	funny, ingenuous, athletic, kind
	ready grin, macho shamble
	it was leukemia, relentless, indiscriminate
	wasted him away
	he died in his sleep on the night of the 11th
	Molly holding his right hand, Ron his left
	his breathing slowed down, slowed down
	….. then               
	it was over
		
	The other one was for Josh and Rene
	known them all my life
	they yearned so hard to have kids
	all they ever wanted
	then Justin arrived			
	light of their life!
	you should have seen the first time they held him
	eyes shimmering, tears of joy
	born cherished, he was
	on the morning of the 12th
		
	Molly and Ron don’t cry all day every day anymore
	they just cry every day
                                           		
	The checkout clerk looked at me
	then away, then down at her shoes
	I did my best to hold up
		
	two tears made their way down my cheeks
	met at the bottom of my chin
	and dripped onto my little purchase
	a small wet stain spotted each card
	you can’t tell which tear
	hit which card

Full Circle #2:  Connectivity
                                                                          

One to one
what it comes down to, daughter, son:
act alone or pull together?
we’re all up from the same dust
in the end we must connect – or square off     
so what’ll it be: and or versus?                                                                                
personally I like the connect thing
grab my wrist: we co-exist

Man to man
(or woman as the case may be)
no matter; the point being
you give your word, you mean it
handshake seals the deal
there are things you can’t renege on
it’s called “life”
you’re [only] as good as your word
so give it mindfully

Toe to toe
we stand
look each other in the eye
confrontation? collaboration?
it’s up to you / up to me

Eye to eye
we see – or don’t
on this issue or that
Work it out, guys!                                                                                     

Face to face
hard to fudge when you live this way
good for apologies too
so bite the bullet and git ’er done
Man, I love this place!                                                                             

Moment to moment
you can’t stop time
(that wacky ol’ fourth dimension!)
re-assess, tweak, adjust
recalibrate if you must

Hand to hand
goes the struggle, the grind
– or, lend a buddy yours
take his or hers

Shoulder to shoulder
stand….
I said, STAND
hmm, guess that's all there is to say about that

Paycheck to paycheck
how some of us live
roof leaks, car won’t start, best friend needs a heart-to-heart
and didn’t I see they just jacked up my withholding again

Day to day
ya survive, ya make a living
know what I mean buddy? ’Nuff said.                                                                                            
                                                                                    
Pole to pole
the world over we play our role
refine, resolve, adapt, evolve

Door to door
go, try, meet, speak
knock; shall it be opened?
chit-chat in the hall
we’re neighbors after all
we share the planet
(can’t hurt, can it?)

Cover to cover
read me like a book?
well take a closer look
see what you dis-cover

Coast to coast
it stretches:
my fad, your fad
MySpace, YourSpace
McMedia, McCulture
Manifest McDestiny

Bumper to bumper
civilization (is that what this is?) sprawls
trash the land, slash the trees
my fault, your fault, death by asphalt
remember trains, where we sat facing each other?
now we gas it up solo to do the slow crawl                         
from strip mall to strip mall

End to end
if we laid out our stuff how far would it extend?
New York to LA? from the earth to the moon?
can we move that much that far that soon?
some things, what’s the point of measuring….

Wall to wall
we carpet the earth with folderol
widgets, gadgets, electronics, tabloids, steroids, gin and tonics
getting and spending do we lay waste our powers?
nature and nurture make for better spent hours

Cheek to cheek
we dance, and fall in love in the doing
sweet tug and pull, beautiful duty
splendiferous heartbreak, dutiful beauty                                                                                           

Ear to ear
grin and…  share it:
     first-rate love’s enthralling charm
     thrice-blessed angel on my arm
     four course dinner for two at eight
     seventh heaven, must be fate
     four five six, I’m on cloud nine
     a perfect “10” and s/he’s all mine

Heart to heart
two join hands, bare souls, share vows
in frolic and in sorrow to be melded
in harmony and adversity,
in rapture and consolation alike
walking ever together
in the helping grace of God                   

Back to back
life’s events they…. well, ATTACK!	
new comes hard on the heels of the old
old friends, new arrivals
“down time”? heard of it once, read it in an article     
catch my breath? yeah right
(hey, two positives made a negative)
half of life’s just showing up, half’s just growing up          
(help me out: what’s that third half again?)               

Generation to generation                                                                                          
all we have is given to us                                                                          
to pass on
before we pass on
stories, wisdom, legacy
mistakes, experience, history
tear and fears and cheers and years …

…Year to year
we strive, we build
we measure: fulfilled?
year to year
     – I’m still here!

Dust to dust
there’s no denying: it takes trust
and in the end
return we must

Michael Yaworsky is a retired lawyer/legal editor. He lives in Rochester’s 19th Ward with his family.