she paid for the ritual

tossing her cards exactly the same,

shuffle,

fooling chance the game…

pretend it's catching

and she paid for the dance

call her Ms. Window,

one of those roses you’d love to coffeebreak with,

one of those sweet Julias you’d let drive,

you’d steal quarters for

so she could

phone up her mother- mercy!

nah, better draw the blinds…

pretend it is raining, Saturday…

you live on a river

your seeds hibernating inside verdant waterfall dreams…

pretend you could swim past deserts blooming starfish…

nah, better drawn blinds…

pretend you are a child…

pretend no one is watching…

pretend her deal’s real

but only for this time around

NYC

1981