980

she smelled the same
and I already knew
if a photo had been taken
how different
we would look
(two great statues forever
staring across a space
in the dirt
from their marble stands
immobile but full of grace)

there’s a line on the bathroom
door that said some
false proverb
(we’re all happier now
why else would you smile
when the wind blows
when the sun vanishes
behind a cloud
only to emerge slowly
with the power of
a golden mare)

I kept an apology
in my pocket
maybe it’ll fall out
when I’m not planning
on it
(I know I was tough
to chew and to stomach
this
I know more than anything)

maybe honesty
wasn’t built into my thick
skull
the space allotted for it
was carved out
and now I keep
a hermit in gypsy clothes
in that cave in that
forgotten space