your silver sparked hair is messy
in that stylish way I can’t pull off
clearly foreign in Shanghai moving through the most quotidian of spaces
I see you
can’t tell how old you are
all curls, dark perfume
and earrings...two sparkly swallows taking flight
on line 10
I gasp at the giant sapphire ring on your ring finger
perfect.
you sigh blink
a rainstorm gathering turning and turning the band
a woman with crimson lips raises one eyebrow at me
intimating my same questions
did she pass away? do you still love them? are you thinking of leaving him?
but you only see light and blue
& I realize that life is this beautiful woman
on a Wednesday train
blind to how an entire world becomes
mesmerized by faceted pain
glinting in the light of the ordinary