Without a picture
you thought zero,
an unopened letter
delete to sender
I wrote in the dark
after you spoke
in only vowels
before erasing
yourself to sleep,
your back crisscrossed
with moonrays
I rose next to you
without pillow,
sliced my calf
on your shoulder blade
and then
cradled your arm
against my ear
like a dead telephone
(Fall 2000)