(from the Fr. revenir-to return; those who have returned, the spirits of the dead, returning to the site of their deaths)
he was just back
from africa, where he'd
caught the spirochete, or a
virus, syph--who knows? maybe
he just cracked in the sun? what-
ever, he was not the same man left
them 25 years before....
sister kate caught him late one after-
noon, wondering around the front garden,
fumbling at his fly, muttering
where have they gone and put the
loo? and kate said, not here, jack
not here, and gently took his hand,
to lead him inside....
later, i saw them, hand in hand, he in
his tall commandant's cap, walking down
by the river....
the western sky was lit pink and gold, the
two of them in silhouette, a pair of fading
revenants, melding into the darkened
woods...i could just hear his voice, telling
sister kate that 'in the dream, mother came
carrying a huge vessel full of water' which
she poured over him as he sat unclothed on
the rim of a porcelain tub. he said he knew this
to be a 'direct reference to the house of
aquarius, the water carrier'... 'i see, jack,
i see' said kate, in that patient
voice of hers. 'careful' she said,
'watch your step, jack, watch your
step!"
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