recently
in the poetry section
of a rather young
and popular bookstore
a young woman
with a beautifully
furrowed brow
and silky blonde hair
stopped me
with a question
on her face
i'm sure she thought
was important

instead
she asked me
where the poetry section
was

"we're standing
in it
love," i replied
as i drew a bukowski
from the shelf

"oh, duh, thanks,"
she said
and began to appear
to look for something

growing tired
of the game
already
i took the ball

"anybody in particular
you were looking for?"

she nearly jumped out
of her abercrombie and fitches
in surprise
then
cool and collected
she brushed her hair
behind one delicate ear
and pronounced
rather proudly
she was a fan of kerouac
and also anais ninn
and went on to mention
others i'd never heard of

"so, do you like poetry?"
she asked
surrounded by books
old and new
frost and cummings
eavesdropping
with glee

"yeah, some," i
answered
a bit hesitantly

"really? like who?"

"um, i just got into saul
williams, i like some
frost, cummings..."

"oh, i can't read his stuff
it's too confusing..."cutting me off

i took a breathe
counted freckles on her face
and continued

"also, i read wcw..."

"who?"

"william carlos williams? paterson?"

"oh, okay"

twenty three freckles
and counting

"and i really like bukowski..."

if i was deaf
i would have thought
i'd farted

her face twisted up
like an arthritic ass

"bukowski? charles bukowski?
ugh, gross! he's, like, so disgusting!
the way he talks about
women
and drinking
and his ugly old
dick!
he's so nasty!"

forty eight freckles
and i say
"have you ever read his work?
and i don't mean
for school. i mean
for pleasure."

"i did for school!"

"then you missed the point."

"what point?"

i regretted even
giving her the option
of asking me
but now i was trapped

"you shouldn't assume
he's a sexist. he was just
afraid of women, like
all men are."
i paused
realizing
how beautiful she was
freckled
young
and puzzled

"i've been reading him
for sixteen years, and i only
really understood
his idea
a few years ago"

"what idea was that?"

i almost didn't
want to tell her
but she smelled like
dandelions
and the beach
and i am a sucker
for young girls
who read books

"his idea,"
i replied
"is that kindness
is just about
the best
that we can do."