The Goldberg Variations—Reunion Up Rose Hill

         REUNION UP ROSE HILL

         One cool night in July.
         The suburbs sparkled with
         asphalt and fireflies.
         The stars had come to earth.

         A motorbike quickened
         up the hill. On it were
         two people, a couple
         in love reunited.

         Love’s reenactment is
         always a show—play your
         part then join the applause.
         Stones popped from under wheels.

         Shadows passed on the left
         as street lamps stood at right.
         Silence spoke in voice of
         rhododendron and rose.

         Last town by the river.
         Bridges and highways fell
         like sunsets. The night wore
         all black, tar and leather.

         Were those shadows the ghosts
         of who we used to be?
         Two people passing themselves
         through their history.

         Reconciliation,
         but temporary. Two
         people mute with questions
         answered the night with wheels.

         The motorbike turned, steered,
         rolled without direction.
         Fireflies shattered into
         fireworks off the windshield.

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