i am riding laps
on my bicycle
a bright saturday morning
just a few days before halloween

i turn onto cemetery hill
and see an older black man
pausing beside his truck
smiling widely at me

“jealous of you” he says
as i am passing
without looking back
i say “it’s nice!”

over my shoulder
i hear “i know it is”
joy in his drawl we share
as i pedal up the hill

in an alternate universe
i u-turn and coast back
we shake hands
and nod as men do

in reality i ride on
my chest filled
with the thing he gave me
trying not to cry as men do

—P.L. Thomas