IF INDEED THERE IS A BODY

 If indeed there is a body

behind your body

and a body behind mine,

I wonder if they meet,

exchange stories or regrets,

touch without want or expectation;

or if they have reached an

understanding we never could,

where a shout is merely

an exclamation of joy

and that shroud of silence

merely the agreement

of all senses at once.

VALENTINE

 

The valentine I wrote for you just walked out the door, unfinished, with the unblinking haste of a lover scorned. God only knows where it's headed, or what it was thinking. It's snowing now -- thick, wet parentheses encompassing every breath, the wind throwing short, hard blasphemies at no one in particular. It's easy for something so small to get lost. Nevertheless, I hope it reaches you, fluttering and modest beyond reason, yet insistent enough that you bring it in -- out of kindness or curiosity -- from the unremitting cold.