The building manager & I
lock eyes
as
he stammers the key
into its she—

Between buildings
where rain does fall

the rinse abides
& unhappy crows bow
over streetlights
that show
needles drop

He looks at me

I at him
( it is so quite small a thing)
his skull luminescent
‘neath the balconies—

& As he stands
in the lift of
LIFT GOING DOWN
mirrors

he stares blankly at me
& I at him

; two strangers across a distance,
in the rainy night of thunder.