i was on one of my after-work walks
listening to some folk CD or another,
the lyrics making my insides laugh,
a skip finding it's way into my step
for no reason other than
that i was outdoors
and i was moving

my feet, perhaps, felt free
and moved by a sort of i'm-not-under-a-desk-anymore excitement
my hands were sometimes keeping the beat
of the music against my leg
sometimes outstretched toward branches
fences, telephone poles
as if i were giving the town high fives

when my eyes were having one of their few
upward glancing moments
i caught sight of you in the distance
backwards baseball cap
a familiar swagger
hands deep in your khakied pockets

i caught sight of you
and knew that even though i didn't know you
we would look at each other when we passed
and smile

and we did, careful not to look up
until that last second
when our eyes met and held
like a secret handshake
the corners of our mouths twitched
and came as close to grinning as possible
shy, hesitant, deliberate
in content recognition
both of us feeling
for that moment
that we were not alone

back home