I picked the minute with no traffic Kept every movement plain and brief No backward look to complicate it No extra sound attached to me I crossed the narrow loading bay While metal shutters split the rain Then glass returned a broken figure Half a cheek, a sleeve, a gaze I couldn't tell if you were waiting Or if my motion caught your eye But something held me in the instant After I had passed it by No accusation, no reply No signal telling me what you knew Just my leaving seen by other eyes From somewhere outside my view I set the timing, rehearsed my reasons I had the sentence underneath None of it could cross the distance Someone saw me leave Maybe you forgot before I turned Maybe I was shape against the rain Maybe all you registered was posture Then never called it up again I stack the maybes into cover Make every blank obey my side Give you no interest, no conclusion So I can leave the meaning undefined But every answer I invent Still has to enter through your eyes And every word I put around you Shows me where my control divides No accusation, no reply No signal telling me what you knew Just one instant I can't question Without putting words in you I set the timing, rehearsed my reasons I can repeat them underneath None of it can cross the distance Someone saw me leave I almost turn the moment backward Then stop before I give you speech The missing answer stays beyond me The look has gone beyond my reach No accusation, no reply No signal telling me what you knew Not a verdict I can answer Not a claim I can disprove Only one unborrowed angle Where my reason couldn't reach I left alone inside my story Someone saw me leave I left believing I had closed it I left inside another view
