The Count(l)ess

She told me she bought it on September 10th,

that it had meant something to her

say half a score ago,

yes half

At the end of a dinner table, he watched the little boy, aged three, saying his ABCs

while wiping frosting from his cheeks

and he was envious of him

and the fact that Tuesdays were just the second day of the week

All around us were the photographic memories

of people with no other memories, no memories they could recall that way

but he was only interested in the novelties

in the impressionable

in the ticker

Just as he realized the futility of this all,

he thought to himself,

Huh? She said the 1oth?

Yes, the 10th.

And he never once asked of the year---