The rain broke off             an hour earlier, the turnthe turn-signal indicator ceased             the last of its clucking, andwe arrived             at the abandoned farm arrivedwith others just now            bailing themselves outfrom their cars, our voices         pitched in some ad-mixture of ease and         exhilaration, someadventure in happiness if         there were such a thing and it wasn'tpretend: laughing, slamming         the doors, we were miscible, we believedwe were friends, remember that?         and your floriferousbridesmaids still wearing those              purple plumeria headbandslike Goa hippies. The serpentine             footpath to the river steamed—it steamed in sunlight         adding to the fullness withoutadding weight. You,               to whom this place was a given,sacred even, and so not given             to you, pointed outpeacock tracks in the mud. Through         an old orchard on either sideof us, where swollen jackfruit            hung on slender limbs,swarms of midges             bobbed up and downlike balled hairnets in the light             breeze. Before itbecame visible, we heard           the river riverand behind it the         gurgling of runoffdown bluffs of packed alluvium.         Jacaranda perfumemixed with pong             from your neighbor'sbreeder-houses. Who could look         into that afternoon and seeit closing? Our whole             queue halted when you wentto one knee, when you crouched             at a puddle to cooto a fat toad. Gone             quiet, we were hypnotizedby the signature           enthusiasmin your face. As the sun                     cleared the clouds, youglanced back to find my eyes             eyes fixed on you, and whatI felt then                 gave me causeto recall                    the pleasure breaking outon the faces of musicians             in that pausebetween their last note between             their last note andthe applause. What             you said, what I said. Whatwe did we did until there was no interval between us.