After AWP

by Bryan Borland

This is a first for me,
the de-icing of the plane,
melting the stoicism
of being away from you.
For three days, I was a business
man. I thought of you,
but the gears turned for hours,
the pistons of introduction,
the pivot of compliment,
Jensen, Hennessy, Klein,
the poets of this machine.
Even my nostrils froze in Chicago,
dizzying my head
with a cold you gave me,
so that even when you weren’t on my mind,
Missouri between us stole my breath
and would not give it back.

© Bryan Borland

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