March of '01

She sat in a cafe alone

in the middle of the city

She sat by the window

and watched couples

walk hand in hand.

She heard the laughter

of a family of tourists

sitting next to my table.

She smelled the scent of freshly brewed coffee

waiting for her on the round table.

She looked in her bag

but found nothing but a pen

There was no notebook or paper.

She grabbed a tissue on the table

and put the shapes of letters together

She heard conversation of people

sitting nearby.

It made her smile

She looked at the discarded tissue

to throw it in the trash

but saw the canvas of

hopes and dreams in her hand .