I saw her in a dream Exiting the bookstore lobby Sitting on a bench on Baltimore and reading Murakami Slipping salt beneath the sun Her hands now tying up her hair One pair of deeply tinted shades reflects my unbelieving stare And at once I am taken She asked me what I wanted As if one ever really knew And I said, "Dull domestication, free from pressure to pursue Another love, another touch, another tired conversation" And then she shut her novel sharply And proposed a new location And at once I applied Details for a new protest Adorn white printer paper pliers She says, "I feel so old admitting counter-culture makes me tired" She leads me into the café Her intention is exact It is 104 degrees She takes her coffee hot and black And at once I am entranced She suggests we settle down Meaning, settle down for good She knows the perfect place on Martha Street In her old neighborhood And then a taxi sounds a horn And it is full of all our things And it is parked outside the café And the driver sounds incredibly
Impatient When we merge onto the freeway She rolls her window down completely The driver dials into a station And then she smiles at me discreetly She says, "I love this song" Then turns away and tracks the clouds The driver curses with conviction While "Heavy Metal Drummer" plays us out