To the Girl Behind the Pharmacy Counter

18 December 2023

You with the smile, asking favors with eyes only,
yes, I remember you too. But this is not the time
for a dance or the courting of pairs. You have asked me
to take my time, and I shall, as I linger over
what time has brought me. Not the east, or the sun,
but just you, with all faults still at this moment concealed.
Shall we remember fondly this meeting when hours of argument
wrangle our spirits, or when we find habits distasteful
which each of us cannot change? Yes, we shall, with disdain,
for it's always the same, as the first blush transforms
to the flush of rage, for we puppets on Nature's marionette.
You can bet it will happen again, as it's happened before,
even here, and to us, as we each go our ways
through the spasms of time. But this is not the time for a lesson, either,
when those eyes ask questions no poet could describe.
So here is my answer. I cannot divulge all my purposes
nor share with fellow traveller the path I have chosen.
So adieu, night-wanderer. May you find a home
and a love worth your while.