Roller Coaster
Michael tells me
dating is like a roller
coaster
fun – but a lotta ups
and downs
*
while at dinner
the glowing thing in
my pocket
coyly whirs against
my thigh
and a person I have
met once
now thousands of
miles away
has sent me parts of
her body
we used to whisper
about at sleepovers
*
Dan tells me about
his wife
uses words like happiness
without caveat
or attached guru
but still cannot help
asking about
what it must be like
to discover a whole
body
to gently approach
the shore
of a willing
continent
that does not ask to
build a shelter
*
I wake up next to a
body
we chant words
that sound mostly
like
I am not lonely now
now clothed
she says plainly
I have some other errands
to run
& I think on the
small cruelty of the word other
*
my family & I visit
Disneyland
I ride the coaster
I was too young for
as a child
I think less
about the brightly
colored cars
charging up toward
the sky
& racing down
toward the ground
more than audible
thrill
as we come
quickly around some
corner
we cannot see past
but even more, the
muted shuffling
as we exit
remembering to not
leave
anything important
behind
the quiet
as we turn our back
wondering where to go
next
I think I am ready to
go home
my sister says
I nod
Phil Kaye in Date
& Time
