Veneer Poem by Don McWilliams

So we have this conversation about managing
our situation and agree that we'll get things under control
and we'll remember what it was like
when work didn't feel like stealing
and passion and desire and longing
lived in a little box in the heart
and when we talk we will keep things simple
and we will try to believe that fire
can be held in a paper cup
and sometimes when I talk to you on the phone
I will feel you holding me
at arm's length
and you will say nothing
about waking in the small hours before the light
feeling as if your heart might burst
and later there is this ceremony
at the office and some people we both know
are being recognized for something that
truth be told we're only pretending
to be interested in anymore
and I walk into the assembly
and Beth Hart is growling 'World Without You'
in my head and I know exactly
how she felt when she wrote that
and I am resolute about giving you that hug
like I'm a guest on your talk show
and I'm thinking now because I won't be able to later
of a thousand easy things to say
and then you walk in
the air moving around your body
the way a jet sheds gravity
and everyone I'm sure sees
that I have stopped breathing