She showed herself to him in pieces.
His favorite was in pie slices.
She was a big tablet to take
lots of history, lots of hours
spent fishing for shark.

I warn you, she could be heard saying,
Why are you with me, such a prickly pear?

He could be heard saying, I knew youd be a challenge, I knew youd be juicy, worth getting dirty for.

How do you know? She could be
seen leaning forward, imploring.

Im waiter, he could be heard saying. Ill take a slice of French chocolate if youll give me a slice of strawberry rhubarb.

She: Im not all strawberry rhubarb. Im tart, Im lemon meringue. Im peanut-butter. Im flavors youve not even heard of.

He: Stop, youre making me hungry.

She: But how do you know? I speak Spanish in China. I play violin in a brass band.

He could be heard saying, Enough with the melancholic metaphors.

She: silenced.

He: I have taken a picture of you and in it you are a whole person. If you need me to,
I will hold this picture up for you to see all the time.

She: But

He could be heard, he could be seen
he could be felt taking her in
reminding and reminding her
putting each piece of her in his
pockets for safekeeping.

02/20/2007

Posted on 02/21/2007
Copyright © 2026 Lisa Marie Brodsky