Three Women at the Spring

if she suffered a breakdown
i didn't hear about it;
yes, she was a neighbor, but
she was a shadowy woman
who loved her sewing,
often tying herself into myriad knots.
it's possible i could still see her through the
window across the street.
she once left a rocking horse on my front porch
and a bicycle without a chain.
the bike had an Italian frame and her
name was scrawled on the down tube.
in her spare time, i knew
she planned to do nursery compositions.
she once showed me a short piece about
Three Women at the Spring which i said didn't
seem very appropriate for a theme about morality.
she insisted that i knew nothing.
to prove her point, she removed my shirt
and made it into a rag with the intention of selling it
to a New York shaman.
i can't be entirely sure, but i later heard she received a
great deal of money in that transaction.
the following rumor had it that the shaman called her a bandit,
and for months waited in ambush to be repaid.
i should walk across the road to end this silliness
since i do want to solve the mystery of her health.
and with the answer i could feel fully entitled to a few
quiet
moments
of
rest.
i'll need to remind myself to go without wearing a shirt.