Flying in
from the Pacific
over the damp summit
of dark sequoias
onto the intersections
of Los Gatos
he
lands
in the mall
in a big box store
among
the swirls
of clothing
and
people
Walking to the back
to the loading zones
he looks for the
queue
to claim his car
He imagines always
that it is easy
but it turns out
that it isn’t easy
He needs a dog-tag
Yes
he
has a dog-tag San Jose
it feels comfortable
in his hand
soft
to his fingers
but he was supposed
to have made
arrangements
at the desk
Going back to the
desk
he knows that he
won’t get there
Because he never does—
something always
comes up
So he is
in the parking lot
waiting for his car
to be brought up
knowing that it won’t
be
because he
hasn’t followed procedure
having done something
wrong
Always
having
done something wrong
and there he meets Delphina
who tells him
she just got back
and she’s a little worried
because
she left her bear
in her car
while she was away
She isn’t concerned
about the bear
because she knows
he’ll be all right
She’s worried about
the attendants
because
they might not like
it
that she left a bear
in a car
in their parking lot
for three days
But she says
"I don't care what
they think
and they’d better not
have bothered my
bear"
Pahn worries with her
for a minute
then she hugs him
and goes
Pahn walks back
into the dark
neighborhoods
to
his friend Wayland’s house
in a friendly
manner
