Errands
I saw you yesterday
For the first time in a long time
But we did not touch
And I did not tell you anything new
About my life without you lately
Or even about the children,
The extracted teeth of the youngest
And the new driver’s license of the oldest
So I waited and listened
As you approached me
Sprightly
Happy
Back again
You said you had somewhere to go
The garage door was open and the sun was out
Everything was new, you were back
The neat white buttons of your pressed blue shirt
Stared at me and gleamed in the light with your silver belt buckle
Where are you going?
Errands to do, you said
This is all we said to each other
As we stood in the street
Between your house and a neighbor’s
I hoped our moment wouldn’t be broken
By a passing car
A kid on a skateboard
With a Marlboro between two fingers
Or a dog without a leash
I had to stay with you a moment longer
Undisturbed
But you turned and ran
To begin your errands
And I watched you go
In the street, in front of your house
As the garage door closed
And my eyes flew open.
