Halsted M. Bernard

they say he is sweet on eliz­a­beth
that he loves watch­ing her answer the phone
that when she wears the blue skirt
his eyes tide with her ocean hips
and with the breadth of her voice

they say he is sin­gle but too shy
to ask sin­gle eliz­a­beth on a date
all the bet­ter
they say
she is too shy to accept
so he and eliz­a­beth trade library woes
between rings of the phone in her office
and I lis­ten
wish­ing he would close the door
wish­ing she would creep her dim­pled hand
across the stacks of requests
and ask him for a kiss

they say the door stays open
I know
but eliz­a­beth
some­day
I will hear that grace­ful click
and behind it he’ll have clasped
your hand
your hips
as the phone rings and rings

© 1997 by Hal­sted M. Bernard