Say it was just a moment in a life
In which there ought to be more such moments.
For all I know you were somebody's wife
Or lover, emerging from the entrance
Of the shop, face poised, hands gloved, hair blown,
Your sculpted legs swishing your pleated skirt
As you strode up to ask me for a smoke,
Vivid as a girl I might have loved now gone,
Eyes of autumn. I found one in my shirt
And lifted the match in lieu of a kiss
Above the checkered scarf around your throat:
You, a stranger, vanishing into a car—
Out of my life, back into yours...Call this
The most chaste of love songs, a thank-you note
To you who don't even know who you are.
The following works were selected from The Last Nostalgia...
The Ohio | Death in Orange County | Photograph: Being Sad | Your Shadow | To a Woman Passing By | Adult Situations | Tropical Courtyard | Page
For more info on Joe Bolton, visit: The Joe Bolton I knew | Remembering Joe Bolton