it has taken me
all day
to gather these
thoughts.
yesterday evening,
last night,
i watched her
naked back gather
in dusky folds,
only to again
pull taut.
earlier,
a day or two
earlier,
i entered a
grocery store
that has not
changed at all
in the years since
my last entry.
i stopped in
the cool misted
presence of produce,
struck with a minor
note of awe;
“so,
you mean,
i leave,
and…
things just
keep right on
going?”
the phone now
has a map.
the screen in the car,
it has a map.
a stranger
on familiar streets,
i rely on worn maps,
the thread of memory,
going soft and
see-through,
in all this gathering time.
and then last night,
she gathered herself
to leave and
i stood,
took two steps,
and stooped
to embrace her.
readjusting my arms,
lifting her
into the air,
applying just enough
pressure
to hear the pop
of her back,
up high,
up between her
shoulder blades.
i placed her feet,
wide,
distant,
back on the wooden
floor.
she smiled,
sighed,
left.
i have yet to
find
any meaning
in life.
zakschafer.com 