james schuyler

after james schuyler:

a young man in lavender

Under the blindingly clear blue skies,
a young man with a lavender dress shirt
is tugging on his black peacoat
with toggle fasteners. He is thinking
about writing poetry as he leaves
Starbucks, grande in hand, no cream and
most certainly no sugar. It is
just slightly too early to be
seriously contemplating anything all
especially after a sleepless night
awake and alone in a rooftop lounge. He
was reading a letter from an occupant on
her adventures, in solitude of wilderness
or perhaps imprisonment, the casual
observer can't be too sure one way or the other.
If you really think about it, his face could have lied,
the letter could have been from next door and not from
around the world.
Oh, what an
unhappy birthday, that should have been
spent
asleep. And now, the morning after.