RIFKAH GOLDBERG

OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE STREET Now you wave warmly to me From the opposite side of the street I can think of when we were on the same side You brought brown rice and ginger root Religiously did your Tibetan exercises In the middle of my life You took me on a walking tour And to the strains of Russian hymns Called me your little Jewish nun You took me out to a meal Conjured up out of nowhere Walked me to and fro in the velvety nights You whisked me off to the desert Where we lay side by side in the dust Warmed by flickering red flames We watched a colour television there Miraculously plugged into nowhere In an Arab nomad's shack We both read our intense poetry Out of place in a younger crowd As if our lives depended on it We introduced each other To our very different friends Bringing together worlds that rarely meet You savoured my orgasmic cooking Appreciated the intricacies of my good taste That holds together my humble home You discerned my deepest wounds Scolded me over my changeable moods Saw through my closeness to my children But you were not sure you could give me what I need And I not certain I could cope with your flimsy mask So now we walk on opposite sides of the street 1999