Richard Morrison
Providence at Greywacke Arch
She stopped just out of view.
I snapped the picture with my phone.
I said it was okay and waved her on
and suddenly saw who went under the arch.
I called her twice before she stopped
and pulled away her headphones.
We agreed it was better not to touch.
That’s why we were crossing the park, after all,
not just because the day was beautiful.
I reminded her it had been three years.
And I thanked her for the first time
in almost three years. And I thanked her again
for stopping and remembering,
although I never thought to remind her of our names.
She turned away and hurried back under the arch,
my dead man’s oncologist,
another plague swelling around us.
—Submitted on 03/10/20
Editor’s Note: Greywacke Arch is in Central Park on East Drive between East 80th Street and East 81st Street.
Richard Morrison’s poems have appeared in Provincetown Arts and Christopher Street, among other publications. He holds an MFA in poetry from Columbia University (1991) and currently serves as editorial director for Fordham University Press.
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