Contained

If you don't mind waiting, I will be near
Saying the only words you want to hear.
And while we are talking, our eyes must not meet--
A smile of sincerity is a crime on these streets.

Pacts held at lunchtime, lunch left to waste.
Speaking of life and books (well, what ELSE in that place?)
In these drab, loveless buildings that all look the same,
You are my teacher--but I am contained.

I may laugh, but I am only to blame.
Words that could SAVE me I kept so contained.

In that tip of a summer, nothing could mar
Those tentative times in that wreck of a car.
I was yours for the asking, a child afraid.
Sent unfettered letters, postage unpaid.

In identical avenues that no one would miss,
The world could not touch us, but we could not kiss. For in this life that is measured out in bus stops and rain,
You were my teacher--but I was contained.