His tangent

her curve

his angle

all degrees

of her

He takes in the view

all the lines and spaces

curves and wiggles traced

their flow and punctuation

top to bottom, footnotes

nothing hidden from him

 

He turns the pages over

no choice, she made him

dense close packed tension

no clarity or meaning

she too complicated for him

too deep too dark he leaves

 

She wouldn’t

He couldn’t

Imagining …

They did

If you’re able,

I’ll call, talk, not ramble.

Not embarrass, seek excuses,

just be, as we used to.

No daft expectations,

friends, the best of always.