Christmas break, a Friday night filled,

overflowing, with snow and unkindness.

I took a bus downtown, bought a book,

your favorite author, then the train

to you, to your parents’ home, to safety.

 

We sat on the couch, hugging,

joking, kissing, talking into the night,

until your mother gently called down

that it was time for your friend to go.

In all the years, we only ever kissed.

 

(after an undated and untitled photograph in the portfolio, “Encounters, Discoveries, and Confrontations,” by Brian Lav)