Buttongirl

Monday, January 30, 2006

Resurfacing

Striped woollen toque slumped
on the backseat car floor, a smear
of colour against dark carpet, blending
rough with pebbles, road salt, ground-in dried leaves –

This casual interference, casual recall
of presence, questions of ownership, images conjured:
dark features, rugged skin to match the knit, nose
and cheeks flushed with November cold – already
it is spring, and seems the hat has been lying there,
forgotten all winter, this surprise appearance:
eyes rimmed by rolled knit edge – no alternating
duality to finish flat with even purl knit purl knit.

Saucer face, eyes, and curved lip: hat top
bottom scarf – this cupped face, fairly steaming.

Thought of the possible:
Thieves cupping opportunist hands to backseat windows,
or aiming penlights between the seats, at side-panel pockets for
any item worth the 3 second break and grab – only

the toque and its red, yellow, brown stripes
claiming a tired presence, eyes closed, the face
drifting into carpeted oblivion. And he,

the new passenger, casually checking
his backseat blind spot from the corner of his eye,
slides the seat further back, accommodating
his leggy length, slightly pauses, mid sentence –
the last word, almost
dropping off.

Distance instils. Wandering thought. Flashing leap-split of synapse, linking 2&2:

A headless hat.
The man
who’d worn it.

(swallowed,
taken back.

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