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- Sam
The
fan oscillated in your place as I drove away from there
after
telling you I'd decided to go back to Istanbul.
Had
it been turned off, the small town
would
have been silent.
I
shifted my car into gear. You said Nothing ever changes.
You'd
been standing in the middle of the room
holding
a petunia. Could you see
the
caricature of yourself?
The
sun appeared above the corn fields.
I
remember how you took a corner, rode your bike, and asked
questions.
When
you curled your fingers against my coat after your brother
died,
I
thought if there was one person I would give up everything for
it would be you.
I
would soon feel like a leaf in a field, laden with ink,
straining
to
see you from far away. I would sit against a wall
and
watch a bucket blow past.
On
the way to the airport, I inspected my carry-on items:
Camera:
you rotated your tires yourself.
Wallet:
you wear a tweed hat.
Toothbrush:
you know the word proboscis.
Toothpaste:
I wrote a poem that I titled your one syllable name.
- Real
City I
-
I thought of what you
would say
to
or about the rain
&
it stopped,
just
like that.
I
was on the ferry,
I
thought of you,
the
sun came out.
I
looked to my left, then my right,
got
under my hood, slouched-
I
didn't mean for them to
&
I wiped them away
quickly
as they came
&
let the wind
&
sun at my face
I
want every instance
back
& you here
with
the sun
in
the morning -
Ingénieur
I
built
a
glass castle
in
my heart,
filled
it
with
pebbles,
and
sent it
to
sea-
I
wanted
to
be there
with
it.
I
designed
this
house
for
my heart-
I
couldn't
use
nails.
The
roof
is
warm,
smooth,
soft
underfoot.
The
soffit
and
facia
are
kiwi
skin
(innards
sweet,
grainy).
I
built
a
home
inside,
for,
all
around
my
heart,
a
glass
castle
with
minarets
and
a moat-
I
filled it
ninety
percent
full
of smooth,
symmetrical
pebbles
I
collected.
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