"Quarter to Five" [by Allison Power]

Quarter to Five

But I didn’t want the operator. So I make spaghetti,
consider syntax, refuse autographs, write
letters to Pope, recycle photographs,
rehearse lines, imagine the good ole days,
examine the terrain, sweep the course, 
lose the way. I try to be lovable. I have a talent
for memorizing weather patterns. I leave. I’m
not allowed back. There’s a saying about the tide
and also about belly dancing. Won’t you
put your crotch next to mine and
carry my luggage and put on this hat and
close the blinds then get me a pill
and tonic & lime? You see
things unfold as they do
close to the sun then loitering
in the Roman-Greek gallery and other
traditions — exacting, African, or noir.
I love you! Where is this leading? Too
many personal questions, it being winter
and all. The current comes
asymmetrical. It makes a lovely sound.

-- Allison Power