I Could Have Been You

I Could Have Been You

I could have been you
Bregsosenar, hat maker
bourgeois milliner
chic dandy extraordinaire
French Victorian father of three
Sunday mass, absinthe tea

I could have been you
Bergonessar, communard
and mail carrier
man of letters, visionary and scribbler
you were Ozwiena's messenger
baring latest witness

I could have been you
Chez Bassorgener, friend and
corrupt companion
caught between L'evenement
and the points of seamstress shears
dulled by distant gaze, startled, "alas!"

Or you
young Brasosenger
dauber, passionate rebel
to outlive us all
bathed in your glow, we relent
our fall, your spring