At 77, He Meets Someone New

He is a cheerful man but, at the risk
of neighborhood creep,
he can’t tell

she may be interested
or
just friendly,

he Is willing to listen—

“parents wanted to travel…”

a smile generous
as the sun coming up,

“their dog needed a new home…”

her curves the curvature
of planets in space,
her eyes
like two stars,

still listening sort of…

until she concludes her story,
telling him her parents
were already old
back then

“almost 80.”