/ lucky

Notes, Prior to an Engagement

(Nontraditional, like lace to fur.)

I say -
Mrs. 12 B, your fear of unwanted guests has arrived,
bearing flowers missing their 13th petals,
like malnourished Appalachian daisies.

I think -
The fear of loss competing for the affections of my fear of having,
competing for your fondness of superstition.

I continue -
You ask me why I am silent these 14 days, and I say,
“It takes a thousand dreams of flying to eclipse a single nightmare;
Our union is about to reach its teenage years,
I will enjoy the quiet while it lasts.”

She says -
Mr. M, your fears are irrational, and let me tell you why,
the thirteenth year is the one we've passed, and not the one to come.
Our building has a 14th floor, our plane a 14th row.
This last year never happened at all, except maybe for a day in January,
one I will hold as an exception to the rule, our leap day, you know.

She thinks -
You went through three sets of clothes trying to sleep through the night.
It reminds me of a man I met who swam across the Danube,
Hoping to escape the confines of home.
But when he made it, it was not long before he came back,
How much he missed his wife.

I think -
This is not how normal people communicate.

She says -
Thank god for it.