THE ONLY WORLD
I was there, then saw it go. The world crawled
through the middle of the night and arrived needing
something to drink. The bar was closed, so the rain ran
its fingers through a neighboring tree. Many cars
passed, dreaming of changing lanes. It was,
how can I put this? The middle of the night had
little to say. You were there, listening to me
like a phone call you couldn’t take. It was too late
for another drink. Another time? And the world full
to the brim. As the storm gathered strength, windows
taped themselves shut. It was impossible to see precisely
how you felt. Impossible, I repeated, hearing the cars
that came and went, never the ones that stopped
to think. The world was all around. It was the rain
and how it fell. It was the wind pushing the tree
to leave its roots behind. And I was there, begging
you to let me stay the night. There was nowhere
I could go. There was you and that was it.
***
Photograph of Ben Purkert by Ben Purkert.
