I left her bed as quickly and discreetly as words
Slithering between the nostrils of a card cheat
As an excuse, an apology
And hopped spinelessly down the steps to the street
Past strangers who can smell her on my lapel like whiskey
They don’t know me, they just know what I do
They don’t know where I’m going, they just know where I go
Round the corner and I’ll be someone else
Another set of bony hands in thick jacket pockets
Eyes welded to the concrete
Shoes gathering snow at the curb
Waiting to cross