An Oldie

This one is from two, maybe three years ago? It's been through a few drafts, but it's always exciting to look back at old work, and pat yourself on the head from where you've come. Not that there's a ton of progress, but it's sortof nice to reread the oldies. K. Enough chatter.

Sketching in Periodicals

today, in the mellow gold of the library,

I scraped the lines of your arm,

tracked the ruffled arc of your hair

as it crept into curls around your ear.

The gentle curve of your fingers were childlike,

vulnerable-

your eyes so smooth,

gray swoops on my page

and I stared and stared at the way

the ridge of your nose slipped into your eyebrow.

It took time for me to get that right.

when I was done, you were there

dropped in the margins of my Economics notebook,

where I could shuffle back

and locate you easily;

quietly nestled between Positive Externalities

and the Law of Diminishing Returns.

I watched your face a minute longer

and suddenly

wanted to reach across the table

to rub your forehead, as if you were my little brother

sleeping on the couch on a Sunday

afternoon.