I remember the yellow blouse
you wore that day.
The world was still asleep,
and the cutthroat trout
sucked small dark flies
into their mouths.
When you told me of your plans,
I felt as if I’d never fished
with you before;
as if I were a soldier
from a foreign land
who’d come to find
an enemy he’d never seen.
* 36 BC – Roman legionnaires confront Chinese troops in Sogdiana.