for the time being
(after Li-Young Lee)
Girl who thinks she’s running out of time meets boy who believes he’s got just enough to get by.
He drinks warm water while she takes a bath. She lingers by the door as he puts on his shoes.
He says, he kind of dreamed of her last night: two fairies in a mason jar (like the one he has in the office-- where he drank his tea and stored his overnight oats), and a single thought, i can’t wait to show her. i love you, even in my sleep.
She listens, her heart in her hands, and one step ahead, as usual.
And he tells her of his boyhood: a collection of pebbles coated in gold nail polish, his mother, and two little sisters, his feet, always in socks, and a childhood best friend. this is how it began. i know how it’ll end.
She commits him to memory, mutters a prayer, and swallows goodbye.
For they are dust. That’s for certain. Destined to disperse.
But right now, they are here. Together, for the time being.
She wraps her arm around his. He lets her, and they walk home. Together. For the time being. That’s a pretty nice thing to have.
