Shabby Lady

Visage, de facto in and out of and around time,
a modus operandi inscrutable and tacit, your
wherewithal to intuit a faceless time,
several tropes as one through the bodily
or machinery.

Opaque though a face may be,
words as timeless as land festooned by
a rigorous Internet,
telephone lines are intertwined
and photography, video
a corporeal way to get to know you.

Viz-a-viz, land seems as arbitrary
as the ether and otherworldliness
our terra incognito. The very first word
I spoke to you was like the very first word
I uttered as a child.

And culture seems primary,
exquisite yet cosmetic, a facia
behind where our minds' eyes
scrutinize India, England and the Far East.
Somehow, against all sense and reason
we had the wherewithal
to contrive a friendship as beautiful

and wonderful as you.