Days after you have left

I have a mug of coffee
when I am beginning to get tired.
and I touch it as I would touch you,
my fingertips alive to how it feels.

Its warmth,
its smoothness
its curve
I remember the hard curve of your jaw
its steam
your damp hair
its handle your ear sticking out.
For a second I am glad,
as if warmth were all it took to be you,
as if memory were all it took.

    by Laura Hurley


Return to Steve's Home Page         Last modified: Jan. 11, 1997