"Blank Villanelle"

Click the arrow on the audio player to hear Ron Spalletta read this poem. You can also download the recording or subscribe to Slate's Poetry Podcast on iTunes.

.

for Patricia
.

As long as you want
almost never is
as long as you want,

or it is much longer.
He will not live
as long as you want,

but his forgetfulness
will last as long as memory,
as long as you. Want,

at once desire and privation,
is the work of his disease.
As long as you want

him, you return to watch hours
unravel. Are they hard as yours,
as long? As you want

to let go of the ghost,
you say "but I'll stay
as long as you want,
as long as you want."

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