Where to Look for the Beloved

Where to Look for the Beloved

She’s the one out on the edge where the ice fails;

I live on the bluff down where the river stays safe.

I go to find the man who lives by the river, still

Alive after the hard rains, chowing on my turkey.

He wants a ride down south, my car is still in the

Shop, I only bring him pie. She’s out wandering

In the Dhaka traffic, the district where the sewers

Work, I’m back as the hotel with the NGOs that

Plan distribution of aid to the victims. Her arm

Is bent the wrong way, the other arm holds her

Child, the light is taking too long, but changes

Before I push the wad of Taka out the window.

She is meditating before the sun, ten days from

Solstice to new year, I make a ceremony on the

Mat, move off to grind coffee, touch black keys

All day cozy with words, she is still on the edge.