read the sign.
So is touching ok then, or prodding
or poking?
Or maybe it’s acceptable
to cast a casual glance,
just by chance as it were, so long as
you don’t cross the invisible line
between seeing and observing.
And at what point does the orientation
of my eyeballs
transition from passive reception to
active interrogation?
And then they were right there
in front of us
big as life and steam and darkness
pouring off them
and then they were gone again.
I wasn’t watching – no, me neither,
no way.
A few slow paces, studied casualness
and then we run like hell.
(originally appeared in The Corner Club Press)
