you brought the picnic basket
peach schnapps and chocolate biscuits
the ocean was thundery
soon after
i flew home to america
you wear your long hair draped
across your shoulders
like a bolt of crimson silk
strangers want to touch it
you brush their hands away
you bragged that your grandfather
invented the egg carton
i said
my grandpa sharpens pencils
with his teeth
you transform sonnets
into lullabies
singing me to sleep
with shakespeare and
edna st. vincent millay
you never leave home without your
red pocketbook
a clean hankie
and two stamped unaddressed postcards
prepared for any emergency
you are a dog person
i prefer goldfish
we spend a lifetime
noting our differences
and incompatibilities
