I saw her in a dream

Exiting the bookstore lobby

Sitting on a bench on Baltimore and reading MurakamiSlipping salt beneath the sun

Her hands now tying up her hair

One pair of deeply tinted shades reflects my unbelieving stare

And at once

I am taken

She asked me what I wanted

As if one ever really knew

And I said, "Dull domestication, free from pressure to pursue

Another love, another touch, another tired conversation"

And then she shut her novel sharply

And proposed a new location

And at once

I applied

Details for a new protest

Adorn white printer paper pliers

She says, "I feel so old admitting counter-culture makes me tired"

She leads me into the café

Her intention is exact

It is 104 degrees

She takes her coffee hot and black

And at once

I am entranced

She suggests we settle down

Meaning, settle down for good

She knows the perfect place on Martha Street

In her old neighborhood

And then a taxi sounds a horn

And it is full of all our things

And it is parked outside the café

And the driver sounds incredibly

Impatient

When we merge onto the freeway

She rolls her window down completely

The driver dials into a station

And then she smiles at me discreetly

She says, "I love this song"

Then turns away and tracks the clouds

The driver curses with conviction

While "Heavy Metal Drummer" plays us out