-The one-liner and the closing night of the experience-

I found my way to the Little League double-
header at the ballpark a few blocks from the house
and later I opened the door to darkness.

I switched-on a naked table lamp standing

alone in the middle of the hardwood floor
and the light was enough to empty an entire room.

She took the time to prosecute my residence

by leaving my drawing of her "stepping from the bath"

hanging on a barren wall like an exposed crime.

We lived on the upper westward-facing slope

of the hill overlooking the river, and during times

of compatibility, ate our dinners tucked into an alcove

at the triptych windows facing the twilight.

She was a student in the behavioral sciences.

I usually got up late in the morning.

Over time we began to speak of things

irrelevant to the other, and she told me

she’d been unnerved

by how loudly I slurped my soup;

that it reminded her of her grandfather,

and I told her

she should ease-up on the wine,

and that's the one that did it.

That's the line which emptied an entire room.