“In Memory of Richard” and “Every Day I Woke Up” by Vivian Imperiale

Two Poems by Vivian Imperiale

Memory of Richard

You burst into my life
bounding toward me
with your pulsating energy
laughing at my surprise
that you chose me
A gay man
and a straight woman

One day became every day
glorious days
of miraculous closeness
Never a moment
when I wasn't in awe
of the magnitude of you

Some laughed and said
our conversations
of unfinished sentences
sounded like a secret code
A quick glance between us—
across a crowded room—
brightened the whole space

Then
all too soon
your life was over
You came once
in a dream
to comfort me
and left saying, “I have to go back now.”
You are there and I am here
But I remember. . .

The twinkle in your eye was the light
that made my soul shine
and ignited my spirit to soar
exalting that the Universe
gave me
the present of your presence.

Every Day I Woke Up

Every day I woke up
wanting to see you
to delight in your laughter
to get lost in that face

Then came AIDS

Every day I woke up
praying for wellness
missing that smile
directed at me

Then AIDS took you away

Every day I woke up
empty
then filling my heart
with our lives
now compressed into memories

One day I woke up
to a new understanding:

You are here
in a wisp of wind
on my cheek
on a windless afternoon,
in the sudden enveloping warmth
as I read in my chair,
in the sound of my name
whispered on an empty street,
in the smile on my face
as I remember yours

And so, over 30 years
after last touching you,
every day I wake up—to you

About Vivian Imperiale
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Vivian Imperiale has lived in San Francisco since 1957 but still takes pride that she retains a bit of a New York accent. When she was a little girl, unbeknownst to her, her father wrote down the original poems he overheard her reciting to her brother as they lay in bed. Ever since, she returns to poetry to help identify and process emotions to deal with life events. Vivian had two seemingly disparate career tracks with administrative functions at a real estate office and in rehabilitation for those with psychiatric disabilities; she quickly discovered that the skill sets necessary for each definitely overlapped.