When He Had to Travel

Carol Coven Grannick

I remember how I’d pat the sheets—

dark green—when he was gone,

a rhythmic touch with gentle beats

I remember how I’d pat the sheets

read poems brimmed with love conceits

and woke alone at dawn.

I remember how I’d pat the sheets—

dark green—when he was gone.

“When He Had to Travel” is a poem that marks a breakthrough in my journey with the man I was dating. He travelled a lot for his work at that time, and this triolet marks the night I decided I wanted to marry him. I wrote it in the last year during his final illness, and read it to him. He loved it.