Finelan G brushed their hair
on the morning after.
They glanced behind them, saw that he was still there;
they took a breath, put down their trembling brush,
and couldn't look in the mirror any more.
There he was, there from last night,
still asleep, tangled in Finelan's covers.
They didn't know his name, didn't care,
decided they could be a few minutes late to work today
because watching his back rise and fall
rise and fall
was such a lovely feeling to them,
and who else would care about a few lousey minutes anyway?