I am collecting dust
under the cabinets
between the wires
The blinds quiver with the breeze
And in the light, a million stars
Some small and round, some long and thin
Slide through the room like a galaxy
I see her in the shadows
Waiting for something
And from wall to wall
Across the long shade outside the door
I watch them move and walk
She is there, across the room
I hear her move
And by this wall
I collect dust, with hope and wide eyes
There, the door, she is here now
Just a single shadow
If only once
a trip through the chairs
Ended with a conversation
These shadows might bear a warmth
Of the afternoon sunlight
Half-way across the earth
And still
I collect dust
Between the walls behind chairs
Where the light from dim bulbs
Crosses the place where we might meet.
