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Sharon Kourous

If what you're peering into reflects you back
only mistily as a shower room mirror,
it's an even bet you're on the right track
toward your destiny. You'll eventually appear
as twin headlights of some night-passing car
brushing a window, or a nimbus requiring
a rage of insects, and ultimately a star
gazed at by former friends, themselves desiring
a less grave existence. So rub at the steam
and gaze into the place where you've noticed
less and less detail, where fade fractions of dreams
without distinction -- it's that mist, be it noted
as you leave for work or return after an affair
that's patiently waiting, still keeping you here.

Sharon Kourous