To the Two of Us

To the Two of Us

There will always be a departure between us,

you, the mirage, a helix of feral dogs, in the desert

I, the patriarch of a horde of slaves

in search of a million masculinities.

There will always be a melody between us,

you, the laughter of a child

after placing his own foot in his mouth,

I, all the noise that can fit

into forty years of private reflection.

There will always be names between us,

I, the surgeon’s lamp in a psych ward,

you, the first entry in a diary.