bits of leaves cake the walk
in darkening layers
take my trembling hand
forgive its cold
in hedges gusts rat
just before us leaves leave one rest for another
the stone bench waits for a cloud
which straggles down from splintery bleachers
a mallard soundlessly circles the pond
his mate in the reeds, head tucked deep in dun feathers
the gravel gnashes dankly under a shoe
my unheld hand rattles the fencing
it rings its links, faintly distracted
all the way up to the backstop’s eave
a squirrel is gone by the time I look up
apart, arms folded, we read to each other
the names of the team sponsors
some loyalty older and peeling
under the dripping knuckles of live oaks
at the top of the stairs
we embrace
and let each other go
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