On our last walk outside
the Promenade had gone all Halloween
everyone dressed as a nurse, a thief,
a sanitation worker.
We were saying goodbye
to W. when a girl came careening 
on skateboard and lurched, 
arms flapping like trying to fly
up and away from a future
that meant falling.
W. burst forward
thrust his ungloved hands  
to catch her but they missed each other
his bare fingers grazing the bottom
of her shirt just as she righted herself,
nearly missing concrete. 

As she flew on past
his hands sprung back
and the bass beat of his heart
went wild in all of us.
He slapped his chest while we shook
our heads and exclaimed, making noises
of a and o sounds combined with ‘h’s
which, in our new language, signifies
horror, and the horror
at our horror.

We’re a new people hatching.
The to-do lists are endless
and the committee for translating
is made up entirely of volunteers.
Fire still means fire, and thankfully
someone relegated brand back
to a thing done to cows.
M. gave us a gesture for
I’m starving for it
but stay over there.

So far Can’t I say goodbye first?
hasn’t found any takers,nor have the sounds wemade when W. reached out and the girl did not fall.Anyone with ideas should submit themso we’ll have a word for sounds made when someone fails to not help a girl when she’s fallingif that help involves touching.