Auld Lang Syne (#48)

I’m still in love,

It turns out,

After all this time.

Where else was there to be?

The woman walks her dog

Along the sidewalk, conspicuously

Avoiding eye contact, and

I can’t know her pain.

The boy stares into his screen,

Watching himself play himself,

And I look over his shoulder,

My own blue eyes reflected.

Those nested acres of earth

Tucked between the highway and

The exit ramp, a laboratory of

Saplings and garbage, invisible—

When do we smell the soil,

And what do we notice?

I cup it to my nose

Like damp potter’s clay,

Determined to become whole,

Breathing the dark,

Crumbling chunks that

Smell of old books.

Remaining in love,

There is no apart—

I am at the world’s service,

Tracking mud through the rain.

Listen. Once a year we sing
Auld Lang Syne,
Intuitive hymn,
Praising kindness!

We stare into strangers’ eyes,

Swept into whatever’s next.

As if it could ever be otherwise,

We resolve for nothing less.