Her expectant cordiality locked her away from you.
Where she looked
finches blossomed from the aisles.
His cigarette butt errantry froze him before you.
Where he looked
children dispersed like smoke.
Her gloved discernment hid her suppleness
like a moon in passing,
she had only to reveal a wrist.
His improvisation boredom fended off the breeze.
Where he looked
there were no women left on earth.
*
And on all these passersby,
as when one holds steady the barrel of a gun,
I have steadied my gaze.
And it is for you to know that weight.