That first time there is a tangled
comprehensible look between them.
Her cheeks, not rosy, the color of faded
dead leaves, the rush of blood
escaping her complexion
as she meets him, her other half
he, in blue jeans and faded t-shirt.
Not what she expected.
He wants to be smooth
instead stumbles on words
uncool and real as he meets her, his soul mate
surprisingly euphoric.
She invites him to a party, he accepts.
Not what he expected.
He, in his button-down shirt,
untucked, wanders
asks for directions from a stranger and
walks off promptly in the wrong direction.
She repeatedly checks the ringer
to see if it works and stations herself
near the door to see if he has arrived.
He, realizing his mistake
rights himself and wonders
if a camel can travel thirty miles a day
and carry three hundred pounds without
taking a break does he have the stamina
to find her house without stopping?
He is thinking of her, his heart beats faster
She gets that peculiar itchiness on her upper lip
when she gets nervous
grabs a beer out of the fridge
and presses the cool glass against her mouth.
The doorbell rings, her roommate answers
they see each other greet and stutter.
A strange desire has taken the place
Already worried they will lose this
they cocoon in her space.
just the two of them, the sound of people
lessens and music heightens
as they stand together
in the crowded living room.
And as long as these moments last
on a grand cosmological scale
it is merely a blip in time
an indescribable blip
that could carry them a lifetime.
