Circles

We're walking on parallel sides of the road
In different directions, away from each other.

He turns suddenly
I can feel the little hairs at the nape of my neck bristle
as he changes the direction of the wind with him

He smiles at me and I can feel its warmth on my turned back.
It ends swiftly, this two-second love story.

I want both this and the infinite that will follow
but half-emotions is all we can hope for
in half-returned glances and half-empty glasses

And again one day
In the heat and dust of a busy city street
Maybe two others will meet the same fate
Maybe exactly where we stand today, or a few feet away

They will step into the molds we left behind
Of hearts flowing over.
And love being a silly metaphor for life

It will still be us, in a different time and space
Such is the inevitability and history of human fault.