You and I sit here
like two lily pads
waiting to be submerged.

We float
this way and that
collecting algae
and the ashes from
cigarettes that somehow
make it over the railing.

When you talk I start to
float away.
But I'm still listening.
I hear your voice even louder
as my eyes chance upon a toad
waiting to leap.

I want him to land
on you
and drown each
lotus leaf.