We were heroes
We gave her a red octopus and you took her for a walk
You fed her and bent down low by the door of the house
we had made for her out of an
outdoor wooden planter
and the inside was lined with quilts.

She loves her red octopus. She will chew it to death.

We were disasters
We stumbled down the blocks going south until I took off my shoes, then we
walked east.
We sat across from each other with sweating drinks at the bar whose patrons stood
outside smoking, then
we called all of our friends and we looked for cocaine but it was too late --
3 am -- so we called over a taxi and oozed to a friend's apartment, the tops of
my feet red and blistered. Afterwards,
you opened the door for me and
we were home again.

We went to sleep proud
We'd sat for hours writing outdoors at a café table
I saw you mouth your words, speaking them to the computer screen
I drank coffee with a scoop of ice cream frothing in it.
At home we had soup to eat, and once
it was late enough, I drove you home.
I drove myself home to the same place.
The octopus was there and the dog. The cat came downstairs at the sound of the door.
We went to sleep proud.

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