day three: The Problem With Problems

a gentle woman
whose name
i do not know
lives down our block
in a giant dollhouse
as you pass by
senses suddenly
detect difference
her cats both smile

yesterday
i saw her
plain coat and cap
light and clean upon her
dirty angels, envious
make rude gestures
behind her back

we passed today
on narrow sidewalk
our eyes met and
smiling, she spoke to me!
i returned her greeting
I've heard say
she speaks
almost never

what's this i see?
on her face
a brow line
folded deep
and in a
instant
i thought
it must be hiding
a problem

it swept me in and
i had a problem
with her problem

the weight
my imagining
that problem
how it might feel in me
overtook my being
i was held hostage by
the moment's mystery
i wanted to
save that sweet soul
from the problem
denied!
i didn't
really
know her
at all

then her face
turned toward me!
and from another angle
I noticed
the line was gone
our eyes
met once more
she smiled again
just before
the door
to her dollhouse
closed behind her
leaving me
to ponder
my problem
with problems