To Robert Hayden by Eduardo C. Corral Lyrics

Less lonely, less...



I gave you
a tiny box.
You lifted the lid,
praised
the usefulness
of my gift:
a silver pin shaped
like an amper-
san. As you fastended it
to your lapel,
I thought again of
that motel
outside Chicago.
¿Te acuerdas?
I sat in the edge
of a bench,
untied my shoes.
Face down, eyes shut,
you breathed in
the aroma
of sweat & allspice
coming off
the sheets. I tossed
my ring--gold,
inscribed--toward a pile
of clothes,
But the ring
dropped in the small
of your back
where it rattled
& rattled like a coin
in a beggar's
cup.