Late

Late

I look up

from the computer

and the room is dark

silent

no one

alive

in the world

but me

and all those things

I did and said

today

the ones I forgot

to regret

I remember

too late

and so I slip into

the bedroom

maneuver the maze

dresser along the wall

crib in the floor pillows in

a pile

closet door open

and here

by the bed

pull my tee-shirt

up

forgetting my glasses

and am tangled

for a moment

in darkness

I hear your slow

breathing

sigh

sigh

you roll over

pat your pillow that way

you do

and fall back

to dreaming

my glasses

on the dresser

my shirt,

the bedpost

I loosen my buckle

my jeans

drop,

keys thud

inside the pocket

a muffled

jangle

and you don't stir

I lift the quilt

slide in

your side already

warm

already taken

you don't stir

I roll

onto my shoulder

you don't stir

I roll back

try to clear my throat of

something lodged

past clearing

you don't stir

stain on the ceiling

crack across the wall

hum of the clock

you don't stir

you don't stir

you don't stir