you claimed we’re in over our heads
so I reminded you of that frosting November day
when we shared a cab ride

we’d been arguing in the back seat of the taxi;
windows fogged from angry breath

I can barely remember the reasons
but I can still smell the sting across my lip

I turned from you, trying to hide tears,
and looked out the window
watching people walk by one another
and never give them a glance

I wanted to know how someone could
see the same people over and over in their daily lives
and never once speak

I wanted to know how they could all be smiling
while I sat there bruising

but they didn’t see us;
they were just passing by

still you yelled
and I turned back towards you,
my face turning blue

I scooped up my tears in the palms of my hands
and held your face in between

I told you I didn’t want to be a passerby
I wanted to give us a glance
I wanted to be the woman everyone stares at
as she crosses the street;

not for body,
not for face,
but for the sheer ecstasy
love should give us

You kissed me that day
right on my upper lip
and devoted your entire being
to making us more than just
passersby

so now you remember,
as your voice lowers

I am committed to the devotion of my entire being
to remind you forever and always
of the day we stopped being

passersby.

03/20/2006