Shining Summer Woman

I remember where you sat and
where I sat, diagonally
across from you.

I miss you as you were then,
unknown.  I miss the you
that I imagined you to be.

Where is that shining
summer woman I met so
unexpectedly?

I wrote you love poems...

Michael Cherry

Once again, I awoke this morning
with an erection.  During the night,
it dreamt of being loved and admired,
like a famous baseball player or an
astronaut being given a parade,
riding down Main Street in the
backseat of a Cadillac with the top down,
waving at the adoring public as they
throw ticker-tape and confetti
from the windows of skyscrapers.

Awake now, this morning, it seems
eager and sad, like a solitary
migrant worker waiting alongside
the curb, hoping the next truck
going to the next job will have room
for him, only to hear, once again,
"Sorry, no work for you today."

Michael Cherry

From July, 2000 issue