The Overnight Angel

by Brett Rutherford

He followed me home.
He stayed the night.
He left the next morning.
He knows, and I know,
that I will never see him again.
He did everything I wanted.
One time.

If angels are
those radiant ones
who love us unbidden
and justify the ways
of Love
to Solitude,

I know what angels are.

— Jan 1982, rev. 2020