t tIME she dreamed of him she woke up beside her husband screaming.

    In tared doo t, mout his hand on her back.

    “Nig er?” “Yes.” S move. ouldn’t lie back into t zone they had been in.

    taken place in touc noimes s  anger, a lack of interest, irritation at a married hem.

    t over like animals, and o breathin her arousal.

    s lift  t ed er, some coming down o omach.

    ime to t snessed, so a quick deep sleep.

    t  recognition. S sometime during t day, but so nestle s significance for long, dismissed it; it al collision on a crowded nighing more.

    A year later t one of t ed for to so violence.

    tempt you? toer another series of dreams.

    er it y. Propinquity in t. It does t y of er, ty of ting knee beside truck, t you ime to look everyhings around you.

    alked like t sed e, ing to slap o slap  terns. You fell into propinquity or distance. Just as, for ories in us clarified all societies. ially left years earlier, struggling ever since to explore a ed .

    At Cairo aerodrome t into taying on to crol lines of t t morning. Madox  off to one of to send a oo get drunk, t at Madame Badin’s Opera Casino, and later to disappear into treets beel. o just climb into truck t morning, hung over.

    So o toraffic bad and slohe hour.

    “It’s so . I need a beer. Do you  one?” “No, I o arrange for a lot of t couple of o excuse me.” “t’s all rig  to interfere.” “I’ll ?” “About t.” “I . traffic got oo many carts, too many pedestrians s.  soutoel,  beyond the barracks.

    “You’re going to find Zerzura time, aren’t you.” “I’m going to find it time.”  alled for more tes in one spot.

    At tel e. o pretend tesy, graciousness. It reminded o  o  to see him again.

    of t to carry it into the lobby.

    “ake t.”   t out of t.

    to take t s to carry it,” and s ion.

    t turned to  of her.

    “So. Good-bye. Good luck.” “Yes. I’ll look after t, stood in it.

    to  for a moment o embrace ead   arm for in a gesture across ouch of hisdamp forearm.

    “Good-bye.” o truck. S no by a blade ed.

    S onto  o me I  lie about it. If I make love to you I  lie about it.” S , as if se t part of herself which has broken free.

    “ do you e most?” he asks.

    “A lie. And you?” “Oo below his eye. She dresses and leaves.

    Eacurn  t so muc t about ticed before, the beginning of grey in his sandy hair.

    looked at  was a long eyebrow.

    Nothing can keep him from her.

    in t s ered plum gardens. S ure, whis much greenery feels like a carnival.

    From Groppi Park t into ty, Souts empts at furnisill a sense of base camp to ers.

    texts and European ories beside eactempt to recognize ec us to tab al Kanuz,  caravan. And too too timate excory, of scar, of manner of kiss.

    “I don’t knoo do. I don’t knoo do!  of wounds.

    t russet leading to broe ss contents aside, and broke across o traered ts bite marks tor suspected were caused by a fox.

    ep into an embrace  to see s axi jerking to a  so t  t covered a . Madox  -prone. Sly at tion. Maybe it’s ’s a  a ce?

    It ralis.

    A postcard. Neat ing fills tangle.

    bear not to touch you.

    t of time I feel it doesn’t matter  if I ever see you again. It isn’t ty,  it is how much you can bear.

    No date, no name attached.

    Sometimes  s of ty beginning ts t lie betiful songs of faiter t ansy.

    es and glasses on a restaurant table so s look up someude bet to can  is somet feeds er. t aj, s it out, is replaced aining  of a missing . t continues to flouris dies from some lack or other.

    Kato burn doesy.

    erests s only alking beauty, re of expressions. s te and secret reflection betimate like two pages of a closed book.

    he has been disassembled by her.

    And if s o t  o?

    ells jokes  laug himself.

    Unceristically manic, tacks tory of exploration. . But s even catco everyone, to ts in t, erprets  s, and doubles to protect herself.

    But no your oo, sells  glittering in a beauty  stand. Siful clot laug everyone ements about t in some expedition th.

    te surns ao  of this.

    Not h a wall.

    Sunligo us journal, all tension in t of es  spine. e do. the words in love.

    In tment t only from t beyond it. It falls upon  tion scar  arm. Ss on t of  s of to eache river.

    In to tc. Just river and desert ligo t, stretco bat. Ss toreets.

    “e will never love eacher again.” “I know,” he says.

    t of ence on parting.

    Ss, enclosed errible conscience. o reac. Only o her.

    “Never again. ever and?” tempt to pull hin him.

    An er to a dry nigance from ts . to part before t closes up and people s knohere.

    tanical garden, near ts. Sear and leans for, taking it into aken t ear. ains smoke. All t is alive is ture desire and .   say to t mortal yet.  alter s side ties he world.

    t of ence. ty-eigember. trees already dried by  moonlig one cool drop to fall doing at Groppi Park.  asked if  , across treet.

    all roraveller’s palms above tstretcs. the way her head and hair were above him, when she was his lover.

    No one embrace. ugs urns. Sill to make a point.

    “I just  you to kno miss you yet.” o rying to smile. s tepost.   ices t ted already into t ence. al, is intentional. emple.

    “You will,” she says.

    From t on in our lives, so her find or lose our souls.

    o fall in love and be disassembled.

    I o tion scar. I love trument scratcself, free of her skin, years ago, when she was nine years old, in a school gymnasium.