The Last Duel

1. After all, Ladies First

Been months since we stood by that door,
the one we wouldn’t let each other cross

either because
we each didn’t know what the other desired
or the desire of crossing through the door
first sparked ideas of triumph

2. Lights, Camera, and…

After you flung the door open
while the taxi was still moving,
I recalled the bitterness in my mouth

You were slumped angrily in a dark corner,
letting the vomit slide down the window

3. Hey Bartender—Shaken, not Stirred

It’s not like I don’t remember
when you asked why
I was sitting so far from you
or why I was afraid of you

Neither was I far or afraid,
just wary of fire in your eyes, your mouth,
the way you gripped my waist as you danced
and I looked away at the lights across the river

4. Looking Out for Number One

Even now I wish I had left you by
the vomit in the glass fish bowl,
the rose drowning

but I forgot the cardinal rule again,
instead, I put my arm around your shoulders
while others stared at you in shame

5. What Narcissus Didn’t See On a Cloudy Day

When we sat on the steps, it was all
heat and sunlight, but you hid in the shade
And I wondered why someone like you,
stayed slouched against the wall, darkened

It was the first time, in five months,
that we were normal.

6. The Band That Played, Even Till the End

While they cleaned the taxi of vomit,
I stood guard and steadied you,
put my arm through yours

But at the corner someone else took your arm
and I walked downhill, refusing to
glance back and become a pillar of salt


Written: Summer 2004