A gilded smile I cant seem to shake

created out of ornate bronze

and touched by an alchemist

I dream of lamenting

over one piece of long black hair

found days after her departure

an image not soon forgotten

what have i learned today

to long again and again

for what i do not have

and need so desperately

and i think of all the books

that will go unread

all the poems that wont be written

the novels i will never start

and for love

for sanctuary

and day dreams

out of the doldrums

of my kingdom of meritocracy

she wants to ride scooters

in a quadraphonic future

where we are June bugs

elapsing eclipses

wrapped in silk kimonos

in a bungalow

by the beach

regrouping and refreshing

after sunset

we sit on the veranda

and the waves inch closer

as our fears abide

each piece of sand

a small stone

that owns

a particle of the particulars

her hair finds its way on my shoulder

a fortress of comfort in the chaos

when the sun comes up

its a room, a prison I’m locked into

sitting on the floor

with that strand of hair

between my pointer and opposable

thinking of all the possibilities

that could and should have been

i wait patiently

as if meditating

for this hair to place itself

as delicately as a feather moves

in the wind