Weights and Measures

cold street lights zipping by
like distant stars
is all I remember from
that night

the night we didn’t say goodbye

you already had
three nights before,
under your bed sheets, waiting
for sleep

but it took me years

you said
happiness comes in small doses
which is all you ever came to expect
from anyone

I used to know the ticking
of your brain by heart,
your cat-like elegance and
your poise--
I could measure your passion
in a cup,
day-to-day
little by little...

it’s ironic
that I remember you now in small doses
flashes really
though not always in happiness--

like the flicker of cold streets lights
zipping by

just slow enough to notice
too fast to make any sense

K. Thomas Elzy © 2006.