CAFE SOLO
by Lorna Dee Cervantes
I loved you
with the scientific
excuse of the lonely.
Now I watch the streets
smog out of focus
or zoom in brutally
on the tragically beautiful.
My eyes have met no one’s
all morning. I have forgotten
the purr of my name.
I remember only the brush
of my cat’s teeth
when she tells me
she loves me. For weeks
the only lesson I’ve learned
is that the leaves of the apple
are finally turning. Everything
has let go. There are days now
that go by without a sound.
I could be anyone.
Once I was a person
who loved you.
