Footfalls away from me —
I hear them. I knew
I was being watched, from
somewhere, but in my
heart it always seemed a benevolent
thing. Who was it that
was near to me, and now flies
from my presence, as if
I were a thing to be feared, as if
I were one of the cursed things
of this world? Do not go,
stranger, I would speak with you.
Tell me of your life,
and I will tell you of mine, and
we may compare scars.
Come back, o stranger, for
I think we have never broken
bread together, never drunk
to each other's health, never
done something stupid
together. Footfalls away from me,
and they stop, in the distance.
I see him, through the
mist of morning: he looks around,
as if lost. He was never
one of those who watched me,
I know now, and I understand
that he has business
I have no business in, and I think
whatever my rationale,
I cannot make him care
about anything that is me.
