Thinking

She sits in a Parisian cafe 

And dreams of England 

Holds the cup close

And breathes in spice from India

And thinks about the boy in Alabama

And thinks about the summer in Hawaii

And wonders about the friend she left in Australia

And wonders about the friend who left her for Australia

And all these things bring her closer to the unsettling feeling

That things are much larger than she knows

And that she has a small time here

And she has not done enough

So she stands out in the London rain and watches the sky

As the sunlight slants sideways through lances of rain

And she thinks about how her best friend died

That day in the carcrash in the Arizona desert

And how her mom is sick in a hospital in Hawaii

And how her friend in Australia met her friend in Australia

And wonders if they will have a boy or girl

And whether her nail color is too bright

And whether she will ever meet Mr Right

And wonders about the boy she left in Alabama

And tells herself she does not miss him

And then she stands on the bank of the Mississippi

It's nightime and the air is thick like syrup

A glow of a tent to her left comes with shouting
And singing and the laughter of children 

The smell of caramel corn and firelies mix in the air

The smell of the river mud and the hair of the boy from Alabama greet her

She does not turn to face him

She cannot bare to see his eyes again 

She wishes she could touch him

She wishes she could let him know she is there

He is sad as he looks off into the distance

The moonlight flickers back at them on the water

And he stands on the edge of the pier 

His long fingers buried in his pocket

And he talks to her as if she is there

And he tells her that he feels so guilty

That he wished it had been him and not her

That he wished they had stayed home that night

And that he wished there were no drunk drivers

And he steps off of the pier and says her name

And she is with him

The world is blue and brown and black

The world is soft and cool and slow and thick

The world is finally quiet enough for him to hear her

And bubbles fly from his mouth at the sound of her wings

"I missed you too."