i read the first page
of fifteen different books
& then walked around the block
hoping to run into you.

i had so much
to talk about,
but nothing in particular
on my mind

a woman with a tribal tattoo
and a fedora hat
rode her bike past me
in the street

& all at once i understood
the meaning
of something you said to me
long ago:

only you
can bring
the stars down to earth.