Fulton & St. Felix

The punch line is delivered
with impeccable tragic timing
but the roar of traffic along Atlantic Avenue drowns
out the sad bits enough that you project
a neutral look to assure the speaker that
whatever was said is throbbing in your chest now
whatever words do when summing up
a past well there is an agenda
everyone wants protection
so their words can't be trusted
even my own words tell little
they must be discarded listen
this much is true: it's the gestures that speak
some hand reaching for your own
the delicate steps together say a kiss so soft
or embrace when the world disappears
there is something noble something regal
about love that descriptions and post-descriptions
and critiques can't touch the reality
of simply caressing someone's cheek
using a finger to wipe a tear away
and then sticking that finger in your own mouth
in order to taste the salt of that person
there is no code here no hidden meaning
there's something here that you can't sum up
because tenderness says so much
no matter how hard you try
to define it with words.