bus #45

we catch each other’s eyes
and smile
for the seventeenth time
and I notice
the words stuck in your teeth
they seem to complement
the space around us
as the distance
keeps getting shorter
the days pass

and I find myself
closer to a place
where the smiles
seem to meet
and our bodies
don’t need words to speak.

another abrupt stop
and you spill the words
on the floor
I bend over
to help you pick
and I can’t help
but catch
from the corner of my eye
your phone sticking out
of your pocket –
alive and full of familiarity

you put your earphones in
and disappear.