An unconvincing smile
Let slip the obligatory lie;

Our hands limp at our sides
Rather than likewise occupied;

Ours lips retained run-down recollections
That our bodies begged to remember;

An inconvenient fork
Found us falling away;

My best friend since departed
While I was forced to stay.

It is a lonely thing
To start on down the street
When every sign or word said
I cannot read or speak;

The sinking sun there
Mixing high
Shades of dandelion,
Tangerine, and redeye;

And, that, last said,
When I amble home,
I pour over ice
And drink alone.