I'd fix you little plates of watercress
and minted lamb then splash some grenadine
on lemon ice. I'd wear a flowered dress
and swing you in a tropical beguine,

but I'm a clumsy broad,
much too wide
for such a dress, and we ain't
talking � you, a ways away.

I wish more quiet confidences on
the howling edge of trains and city lights �
that I could feed you cherries for your gout
and fix you little plates of watercress.



� 2004 by PJ Nights
previously published at PW Review