it was a time of prosperity
in heart and in gold
my neighbor had just bought a new cat
that didn’t like to eat cat food
the irony did not slither past me
we shared an ice cream, by the shore
and then i found that i much preferred
your presence only in pictures
and i used to chat every week on the phone
with a raspberry plate at my hip
and the words seemed to come easily
water off a duck’s back, i shake my head
i preferred to build my bridges out of marble
the only problem was
that it made all of my guest’s feet cold
and it’s listlessness, it’s unfocused, it’s unforgiving
in this lighting
the ugliest become lily of the valley
it’s become an unheard-of desire
to have a better valve of color between my creators
i take some hope, i must confess, from all of the cinema
i’ve devoured
and the romanticism is infectious and surreal
in the capturing of the twitch of the man’s lips
against the bare oak of the outside tree
but i hold my tongue, i close my eyes
one more night of silence won’t harm anyone
least of all my ailing suitors, who moved in to the floor below me
to retire into a stream of green
and allow myself to affect you
i don’t hope for much
but i would be content to know that a piece of me
has situated itself as one of the many ribbons
in your soul.