We were young, stupid,
but that thing nagged at us hard.
Your bits were younger,
Mine were virgin, insisting.
I have never forgotten.

[79]

Before you cheated
I was lost in your blue eyes
Liquid pools bouyed me
insulated me from storms
kept the tragedy at bay.

[80]

I see you naked
only in my memory
for these 40 years.
That does not stop me at all.
My fantasy is stubborn.

[81]

That season was hot.
I didn’t have a fan but
We chilled all summer,
rolling in the waterbed
laid out on the concrete floor.

[82]

Do I like tankas?
Well, not particularly.
They feel like haiku
That can not find their endings
like an old Bob Seger song.

[83]

Conditional? Yes!
My love comes with strings:
Puppy, no house poop!
Her love denies boundaries
But she drinks from the toilet.

[84]