When I was in love with someone's hands

I wrote this poem after a trip to Chicago in April, 2006.


The hands of my friend
Hover over his camera
Like hawks kettling over a small animal

The ripple of wrist and tendon
A deliberate caress
Of a heartbeat, a shadow
Of a second in my life
I have already discarded
And forgotten

This reclamation of my lost memories
Carelessly left
Half-formed expressions
At last made ancient and whole
Monuments to my inattention
Saved and constructed by his delicate hands

We live our lives greedily
Discarding each moment
As though confident
In the countless others
That will follow
But my loyal friend knows better

My friend's exquisite hands are never hungry
For anything beyond this moment
Beyond this story
Beyond this light, and this breath

All that we have lost is captured and kept safe
By his elegant hands