August 27, 2023 - Rahil Najafabadi’s “Barrel Roll”

I am greeted by the same people every day,
until I go home, and I see different apparitions.
I don’t know the man at the tea shop, but he gives me
the same cup of tea and I awkwardly smile,
and thank him without him hearing. It doesn’t matter.
I pass by the bookstore­­––I never know shop girl’s
life. But I always think they know mine.
When I smile at you, I borrow what is yours,
and turn it into mine. I give it back sometimes,
and I take away what’s yours completely.
Now, so many wrinkles later, I say hello like you.
I wait for my tea to cool, and I remember to drink it.
When I dance, I don’t care if each hair is in its place.
Yet I am not you. We are only each other when apart.