**street Encounter** Poem by Adam Berman

There in the sun,
her shadow stretched out against the pavement
her lips stood thirsty
her cheeks reddened
her eyes dissolved
Her candied form
lined forward

She wore her hair in a braid
a red vest, a colorful skirt
complemented her pulchritude
The sun dined with her
and made room for my darkness

In an exquisite sunset
She opened her mouth and sang a word.

The next day I waited.
And god walked the streets
crooked behind her tail
my shadows and I engaged with her stars

My tongue became the red carpet to her footsteps
zij houdt van me, zij houdt niet van me
Each sentance a petal picked off the flower of affection
that I had carefully watered in time
Needless to say, I was nervous

There in the sun
my shadow stretched out against hers
my lips trembled
my cheekbones hardened
my eyes delighted
my thin figure
twisted around hers

I wore my hair like a crown of worms
stained jeans, biker jacket
distorted my once- good looks
the moon stood hours away
and heard my cry

She paled at my news
and though her eyes appeared open
she had turned them curtains closed
She opened her mouth and sang a word.

I tried to get to the heart of the matter
I wanted to tell her
that I love her
But instead told her I respected her

And when I past you it was like an eclipse
When I first met you I tried to wear colour
but with time the colour dried
the rest washed away when I cried
just one bit of black
one bit remained
that painted over my love
that ended your reign