The Novice MOnk
Robert Lloyd

Thirty-two years ago,
We first meet.

You say hi,
Ask me where I am from.

“North Minneapolis,”
I reply.

Your smile
Welcomes me to New Jersey.

Just two years later,
The Sixth Grade Dance.

Would you consider
Dancing with me?

My heart races,
Luckily, you say yes.

The next year,
I have a little fling

With an older “woman”
In Eighth grade.

She moves on.
Alone, I dream of you.

I realize my mistake
Too late

As I watch you
Arm-in-arm with him.

Ninth grade arrives,
It is time to leave.

It’s back
To Minnesota for me.

In math class,
We say our last good-byes.

Decades pass,
My thoughts return to you.

Still single, I wonder
Have you wed?

I write you
Hoping for a reply.

Your mother sends a note:
You have died.

Now,
Why am I still carrying you?