In the ideal spot for catching up,
we stay until we lose the shade.

Had there been a spare hand for the iPhone
to catch umbrellaed apparitions headed home,

I wouldn’t need a thousand words, more or less,
to picture the sweet success of our grocery run.

When you’re expecting “Buonasera,” a word
too easily confused with the more familiar
“Buongiorno,” a word ready on the tongue,

“Buon ritorno” will throw you for a loop
if spoken by your neighbor, the customed-
made shirt lady from the shop downstairs.