Fishing, Mostly Waiting

She's got this smile
reserved for the luckiest
where the corners of her mouth
shoot out to jagged points
as if jerked
by invisible hooks--
like the tips of flower petals;
like arrowheads hitting their mark--
but that's not the case.
Somehow I'm the culprit
and the target
and enthralled.

There's a handwritten list
in my ribcage
of things sworn off for good.
I can't tell you
or you'll assume where you stand
but rest assured
as best you can
with the knowledge
of time's reckoning:
the law of averages
comes through in the clutch.

Words like 'serendipity'
mean more to the starving.



Currently reading:
"The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla" by Stephen King.