i caressed her lightly across the nape of the neck
because such touch signals connection
she turned her head to see who it might be
and it was me
i wasn’t expecting fireworks or glee
and certainly not my perplexity
her eyes remained passive
no upturn of lip and no instinctive lean or reach toward me
it was apathy, and observation
reciprocity of reaction is what we take for granted
where interest or love intertwine
i turned and let my feet fleet me away
i left changed
knowledge is pitiless
X
P.S. Parenthetically Speaking 