I can feel you coming,
Lingering
Like breath on the ear lobe
Probing on the back of my neck
Like a stabbing question
Left unanswered, awakened by this chill
Hanging in the air heavy and opaque,
Just be gentle October
On my fragile state
Because my state of mind,
Not as agile as it used to be
Worries incessantly,
Will my old bones cope with the looming cold
Will they be crushed to dust,
Ebbed and swept away
Ashes to ashes
To cover the same ground,
I slipped upon, and lay broken on
Finally settling like frost.
I don't know, we just started to say hello. We passed each other every morning, usually around the time the hands passed 8 o' clock. I was on my way to work and he was walking his dog. I think it was just the regularity of the situation. So it got to the point where I'd approach our crossing path and I'd look forward to seeing his face. This stranger with familiar features. His crooked smile and the plumes of smoke hovering above his head. I sort of liked the fumes that followed me after he'd gone and hung onto my clothes. There was something about not knowing him, but knowing he would be there everyday, a common factor. It felt like my day didn't get off to a good start if I didn't see him. If we didn't exchange those few words, it threw me off. Like I'd missed the last train home at the beginning of the day. That's what routine will do to you, it will mess you up.
