Hey Toby,
Remember me
And when
We first met
It’s been
A lifetime or two
Since then
Memories recede
For some
But I
Remember you
Vividly
It was the
Summer of ‘74
Nixon
Watergate
Impeachment
Background noise
Band on the Run
You were the Assistant
To the Fine Arts Prof
On secondment
From U of W to LU
To teach Pottery 101
You were
Oh so fine
Luscious
Like wet clay
Spun on a
Potter’s wheel
Your hands
Were clever
Artistic
Manipulating
I admired the Prof
Her technique
Rare
Skillful
Precise
Well turned
But I was
Seduced
By your approach
Unrefined
And raw
Rough edges
You traveled
With Laika
Your yellow dog
Named after the one
The Russians
Launched into Space
On Sputnik 2
And you drove
A white camper van
That I knew
Intimately
Where I think
I might have
Fallen in love
I’m not sure
The summer
Was fleeting
Not long enough
To grow
The affairs
Of the heart
When you left
You gave me
A teapot
You made
With those gorgeous
Articulate hands
And I made you
A hippie shirt
That I embroidered
With my hands
Because
You admired
The one I wore
That summer
All these years
Stacked
Like books
On the shelf
Of time
The attachment
Still lingers in
The light places
Of my mind
Whenever
I see
A yellow dog
A white van
A clay teapot
