_____(with thanks to E. K.)
So much in a face:
the upholstery of
being human.
Everyone cares
enough, but no one
cares enough to
send the very best.
You are an utterly
simple utterance—
best word, best order—
& when I see you—
when I am about to
see you—you are
the set of keys
that is nowhere
I have looked.
How can it be
that I can tolerate
so little? I hurry
home to catacombs
full of suddenness,
& just as suddenly,
there you are,
never stumbling
over English—you
just know better
words in French.
If you could stand by
yourself on the porch,
under the coat hooks,
your face aglow
by mobile phone-
light, I know
that I could live
my life alone
with these bookpiles
raked into larger
piles for the torch.
