Next morning
on the phone to her—
the all of it

reduced to words—
How lovely the way
we redefined wrong.

Yes, she agreed,
then slowly, in a hush,
It went beyond
pleasure, beyond fun.

They laughed
without gaiety.
I feel numb, he said,

and hung up to begin
what he’d later describe
as a long slide into himself.

Conversation with others
seemed like chatter.
Work felt like work.

He’d call her up
and say things like Holy shit,
which she understood
to be accurate.