Mercury Girl

Mercury must be her element
for nothing,
not fingers, hands or words
can catch or keep

Sure, she holds my hand
but only if I ask
and even then
I wonder if I've intruded
exceeded invitation

She says she feels small
but I feel smaller

She thinks I want to give all
when little is all I have to give

She thinks I understand
and feels safe
when I am ignorant
and the only think I know
is that I am happy

She thinks I can't wait
for heaven to arrive
if just once a month
when heaven she delivers
without a word

she frequently confuses
regularity with frequency
calls for randomness
but insists, 'once a month'

'You talk, I listen,' she says
and so I listen to silence
and wonder if she hears at all

But she's all about ephemerality
of strawberry sundaes
used books and children's stories
destinations she has never heard of
and futures I am not a part of.