"As the 34th anniversary of the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens nears, people begin swapping the stories of where they were when they heard of or saw the eruption. "
And I was here ... from In My Old Age
Having Coffee With An Old Girlfriend
a chance meeting at Starbucks
a table together to catch up
and I keep imagining her
naked in 1980
we were a couple then
pulling in the same direction
ending each other's sentences
laughing at the same absurdities
and never sad after sex
what went wrong?
I study her face as she tells me
about divorces, breast cancer, a troubled son
deep lines and blotches
on the ripened beauty of a young woman
eyes a shade of blue
all the oceans should demand
what went wrong?
on a Sunday morning in 1980
embraced, out of breath
damp with sweat and sex
the phone rang
my mother asked
"are you all right?"
which blew my mind
how does my mother know
about my sex life?
"on television it looks terrible"
mom, what are you talking about?
"Mt. St. Helens erupted!
a chance meeting at Starbucks
a table together to catch up
and I keep imagining her
naked in 1980
we were a couple then
pulling in the same direction
ending each other's sentences
laughing at the same absurdities
and never sad after sex
what went wrong?
I study her face as she tells me
about divorces, breast cancer, a troubled son
deep lines and blotches
on the ripened beauty of a young woman
eyes a shade of blue
all the oceans should demand
what went wrong?
on a Sunday morning in 1980
embraced, out of breath
damp with sweat and sex
the phone rang
my mother asked
"are you all right?"
which blew my mind
how does my mother know
about my sex life?
"on television it looks terrible"
mom, what are you talking about?
"Mt. St. Helens erupted!
the mountain exploded!
it's on television!"
it's on television!"
after that we celebrated May 18th
as Cosmic Sex Day
and now over coffee
I wonder if she remembers this
but don't bring it up
we finish our coffee
how nice to see you and all that
but don't exchange phone numbers
and for the life of me
I can't remember what went wrong
after we caused Mt. St. Helens
to explode
it must be this way
happiness and ecstasy
are so rare in a life
that memory hoards them
and protects them
driving out any threat
that may compromise the power
of their echoes
and in this way we believe
what happened once
can happen again
and maybe we're right about that
but also maybe wrong
as Cosmic Sex Day
and now over coffee
I wonder if she remembers this
but don't bring it up
we finish our coffee
how nice to see you and all that
but don't exchange phone numbers
and for the life of me
I can't remember what went wrong
after we caused Mt. St. Helens
to explode
it must be this way
happiness and ecstasy
are so rare in a life
that memory hoards them
and protects them
driving out any threat
that may compromise the power
of their echoes
and in this way we believe
what happened once
can happen again
and maybe we're right about that
but also maybe wrong
