-maybe baby-

maybe she'd say:

—I’d understand clearly

if the thought of you

had crossed my mind

as the thought of me has crossed yours.

maybe she'd say:
––when was it we danced?

was it the Spindrift where you say

we learned the language of saltwater

and from the dance-floor the language of song?

this fabric you speak of,
that which unraveled at our feet,––

I don't know it as you do

and yet you tell me of how

we stormed the diners, the balconies

and the bench-seats

falling in the trenches for young

love’s sake,

laughing.

indestructible.

invincible!

irresistible.

maybe baby

had I the time reserved

would remember something

of your journey toward me ——

something of when you said the windows cranked-down

when the dashboard's radio tuned-in

and the chain-linked fences brushed

in silver passed the Portuguese

widows dotting the sidewalks in solemn black

forever in mourning.

was it then the rush of the swift
afternoon was at my face?

when did we feel the heat from the pistons

of your father’s flaming Roadmaster?

she might say.