Terms of Endearment

a Russian novel of goodbyes
its pleases and thankyous
both were just as awkward as they felt
at the rear table in the bistro
each pose a hypertext
in this ménage-a-trois with the past
buddy/pal-o-mine/crony
back to the salad days
before polite voicemail messaging
enters lunch dates in the palm pilot
returns call sheets at the office
we’ll always have paris
and exit 15 on the interstate
we’ll always have the past tense