I’ll See You Later
I’ll1 see2 you3 later4.
1. I’ll – a contraction of I will. The future tense, an implied certainty. I WILL do it. Will. Like the name, a shortened version of William. Contraction of William. You and I? We’re fond of shortening things. Is a contraction a good thing in a relationship? It’s a contract. Agreement between two parties. Typically symbiotic in nature. I’ll give you this, and you’ll give me that, and hopefully we’ll be better off. You and I go together like I and will. As in I will see you later.
2. See is an ambiguous term. If I see you later, presumably, I’ll lay eyes on you. But that might not be the case. I might see a cabinet door, left slightly ajar, the way that annoys me so much, the way that you know it annoys me so much. I might see a dirty dish in the sink. Smell you in the closet. Breathe you in.
3. You know who you are.
4. Later. Later means soon. Later means please, I want to see you soon. Later allows you to nod in agreement without committing too much. Of course you’ll see me at a later date, you think, shaking your head with a laugh. But hey, if you’re getting tired of seeing me, later can me a few days, a month, a lifetime. Or it can be, yes, soon. As soon as possible. You’ve got work, but right after. Later we’ll have a gin and tonic moment. A star gazing moment. A late night walk, city streets glazed with slush and snow. Eternal.
*
Acid Jazz
We were young – with rattlesnakes
sticking out of our teeth, and time sticking
out of our rattlesnakes. We would
catch baseballs and dandelion seeds on our
forked tongues, tasting summer wine.
We were poles apart – palms free,
running from the strips of yesterday.
We would stain our feet with grass
and follow rivers until their end, dip
our fingers in the uncertainty, and
think of each other.
We were andesite, a black star.
We were liars. We practiced
déjà vu. We would wipe sweat
from our brows and taste bronze
and phosphorous.
