Sleeping It Off in Rapid City by August Kleinzahler

Author:August Kleinzahler
Language: eng
Format: mobi, azw3, epub
ISBN: 9781466880764
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

ROOMS

In the sleep that finally gives rest

I take the stairs slowly

out past the azalea dell and bison paddock,

out of view from the meadow,

and down through these rooms once more,

this endless house

under the lawns still wet from mist,

the root systems and mulch,

only to find you at a sales counter

arguing with a Russian woman.

Her English is rough but adequate,

your argument well-reasoned, controlled.

You will in the end prevail.

The salesclerk is charmed by the snatches of Russian

you mix into your conversation,

the garment exchanged for credit.

I seldom find you in these rooms anymore,

certainly not for months.

So when our eyes meet

you look momentarily bemused,

the shiver of surprise softening to pleasure.

You are lovely,

somewhat older than I remember,

business-like in a tailored suit.

Our conversation is courtly,

flirtatious in what we imagine an Old World way.

How strange to encounter you here

in this harsh light, the tableau

of a downtown department store with its cases

of perfumes, gels and leather goods.

And how inexplicably refreshed I feel afterward

lying here alone,

awakened precisely as our commerce ended

by the shouts of children going to school.

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