I saw you again yesterday, as I have
so often recently and once again thought
of approaching you for there is much
I would like to know about you and how
we ended up in the same place.
But once again I sensed that you
wanted solitude, wanted not
to be disturbed, not to be questioned.
You did smile briefly, a momentary
softening of you face, but that
moment passed all too quickly.
You were again dressed with
a certain dated elegance as if
to say this was not your time
and never would be, shoes that
once would have been called sensible,
a handbag not a purse, sitting still
nursing your coffee, legs crossed
only and the ankle as they did
in all the post-World War photos.
I wanted to speak to you, but all
I could do was smile, tip my head
in your direction and hope, deeply
hope that one day you might
approach me and ask me just how
I ended up in this place, for that
is what I imagine a mother would
ask of a child she placed for adoption.

First published in The River, Sandy River Review, March 2024
https://sandyriverreview.com/2024/03/30/seeing-you-again-next-stop-riding-ty-newydd/