I SAY, I DO


Meeting an ex-lover’s old mother
in front of the bait & tackle shop:
Do you have a girlfriend? Are you
getting married? Her middle-aged daughter
lives at home, still dating
the man she had before & after me.
Ah, the mother sighs, I guess
it takes a long time.  I reply,
I’m on my way to work.

Magnolia blossoms bloom outside an open window
of a room I quit five years ago,
a naked woman on hands & knees
turning her head & asking,
Do you like it like this?