Cheri Fein
#16 FOR DECEMBER
Somewhere where you're not used to crossing,
This street not North or South according to Map Central,
But the border
Where citizens
Rush around as if doing the Insect Dance,
As if one ant could carry more weight than two
So who needs to practice
With a partner the Shift
&
Balance Waltz. The mood is
Don ' t stop here, keep going. Going
You walk the wrong way for a block or two
Seeing a lot from here
Until the shopkeeper rolls down the metal gates
Cutting off light like a stage curtain; then it's scary
Suddenly scary to be standing in the dark
On a strange street with a broken street light.
No one knows how to cross. It's the Pause-
After You-Pause game that so easily leads to accidents.
It's time to be getting on. Amazingly,
You somehow find the way back to yourself. I'm
0
glad
Our paths crossed at the workshop. That was a wonderful
Summer because I have a way of forgetting important dates
And scenery and down there
There was nothing much to see,
\
Which way to go, whether these shoes are comfortable,
And whose aproned image will be standing at the door
When I get home. That's all I need from you today,
No more than this note:
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