quiet

i remember
on one of the last days

when you took me
to that foreign restaurant

you kept apologizing
for the old people
surrounding us

but they had more life
that i did

dancing with their eyes
and quipping over their
decaf coffee

not a care 
in the world

i remember
just as we left

when we paused
at the rickety bridge

i kept looking
at the koi pond
surrounding the eatery

it had more life
than we did

waving its regrets
and splashing its complaints
to the shore

not a worry
in the world

how can i be
so self-centered?

how can we be
so untender?

why can't we speak
more than we've been
taught?

hiding our answers
and tying the knot
to our emotions

keeping still
while the fires rage
within us

(quiet)