in dim streetlight
I stagger out of the bar ...
rough-and-tumble
conversations with my shadow
spill into the cold
bare-knuckle brawling
with my drunken shadow
on the wall
a frenemy of ten years
in my immigrant life
fleeting moments
between waking and dreaming
I muse
on the extended “if”
of twenty years younger
Ribbons, 18:3, Fall 2022
