As We Learned

By Paul Bender

That night, you weren’t there
As someone else was stepping
Or walking your path
We had not yet collided at the
Intersection of our lives
Not yet felt the sting of eviction

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Other nights,
Tangling
Thoughts, the conversations
Brewing,
Fermenting
As the flakes fell, building the foundation

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Our lips danced among the stars
Sounds tolling, from that old sofa bed
Half of the dead, dancing beneath
The blanket of snow, those
Flakes glinting like crystals falling at night
And I recall how beautiful you are to me

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And we talked, we spoke all night long
Our lips touching, listening to the song
As our bodies listened,
And learned

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