When we met, I didn’t say much;
I wanted you to think I was thoughtful,
that I was listening to you,
reading your body language,
attentive to the way the hairs
on your arms lie straight and long…

In fact, I was building little bridges
and finding little matchbooks
in the overcoat of my subconscious,
keeping fires alive, trying to trap the past
on its side of the river Styx.

By Heidi Turner