The crow flew overhead as I ran over her shadow.
Not a word passed between the old couple at lunch
They ate, efficiently & neatly
Not meeting eyes, not exclaiming tastes
She murmured nothing
As he zipped his jacket,
Heading outside for a smoke.
I feel you remembering me
The square plate fitted among the rounds
The fried dumpling
Dropped in the asparagus at the China King buffet
We are no more each other, though we are.
I eat left-handed as I write
(A skill I learned from a broken elbow)
The words won’t wait, the impressions pour over me
Like water overspilling glasses
Piled-high food
The take-out guy tucks green beans into foam-lip corners
I’ve driven a hundred miles to eat here
But in New Mexico, this is not far…
And I will eat no more today
Replete with Crab Rangoon
In the light of a desert day.
No dragons hang from the walls here
Tho I dreamed of dragons ‘pon waking
A carved-wood, sinuous length I put on the roof of my car
Meeting the eyes of others
driving towards me.
I finger your memory
Like a piece of fine china
Remembered in a thrift shop
Transported for an only moment
Into the life when/after I loved you.
So, where do you go, when you leave me?
When your lips no longer touch mine, your tongue searching, tasting?
Your hands reaching to glide secret spaces.
When all it takes is a little attention to stoke
The fires I flame into
You disappear so well
I cannot find you
And choose myself to love
For only I am real.
