Under the table a cane leans by her legs
And their feet stay in their respective areas
And are irrelevant
(Two tables over a boy
And a girl. Dressed for the prom
Their feet touch maybe
Accidentally and ping
With fire. Her mind maps out the exact
Space between his dress shoes and her pedicure
A variation on Euclid, tinged with desire)
They sit in silence
Enjoy their food slowly
-- Later they will share a decadent dessert
And her mouth will form an understated “o” at its arrival
Her biggest expression
Of delight, inked in the rays
Around her thin
Single-stemmed mouth --
For now he breaks the stoic silence
She leans in to listen
Their glasses glinting in unison
Like two conversing crescents
Under her knit cap
Over his neat collar
A hand gesture sends her band sliding
Loosely towards her knuckle
He holds hands with himself
Creating the silhouette
Of a forest floor
(Two tables over he can’t keep his eyes off her
She cocks her head, curls bouncing
He takes a picture with his cell phone)
Later they will share a newspaper
(Later they will dance
He’ll grasp her stomach
Over the silk with sweaty palms)
The check comes
(the check comes)
Shuffle
(shuffle)
Along.