Perfect Moment

Valerie Diamond

I think you said, “I love you.”
Sharing a coke on a hard park bench.
Just one for us both, because you owed $4,000
to the IRS.
 
July sun had fried my arms to bacon,
But the grass around our bench bloomed Irish green.
 
Husky and soft,
I thought you said, “I love you.”
But then your phone rang,
And afterward,
I was afraid to ask.
 
That was our finest moment.
 
For Christmas, you wouldn’t let me
help you trim your tree.
New Year’s Eve – no call, no party.
Valentine’s Day I made you fancy brownies.
You ate them all, then asked, “Did you want one?”
On your birthday you borrowed ten dollars,
And never paid it back.
 
Yes, that July day was our perfect moment.
But still, I’ll always wonder
what you really said.