You skirt the puddle in the alley
As I hold the umbrella over your bowed head
Walking to where you’re parked we
Pity the man who’d just dropped his keys
In the urine reeking elevator
Even as you fall up the stairs
Standing by yourself long
Before I can help you
You who feel silly
Saying thank you

In the car racing shifting
Conversations between stop lights
All that no matter which
Forms patterns around
Intimates things complicate

I get out stepping into the wet
Bramble at the end of the driveway
As you pull away head bent already
Intent on your next something
We both know it goes without saying
You’re already where you want to be

Even after all the cold stuff
Small times strange spites
Still how I feel
Swamp eye sister
Keen captious tender severe
Resourceful of implacable heart
Of sweet concentration
Conveying lilacs and dry cleaning
Disappearing down the street