In an almost empty cafe in an unfashionable area of town,
_____I poked at my coffee-stained notebook
with a bic pen that had emerged unscathed from the washing machine
the day that Gunter did the laundry.
"Only an idiot would have thought that he had really meant it,"
I wrote and then violently scribbled over my words.
only an idiot.

"May I talk to you?"
Formulating a negative response before I even saw
who was speaking_____,
I looked up.

..................................................... home