Neighbor

I carry too much synchronicity today
Packed per square inch,
Jammed into my heart,
A Universe of energy
In a space pinched by my thumb and forefinger.

I walk the Hessler Street Fair
And fall on a table of simple Chinese line drawings,
Beautiful, ink-drawn and watercolor washed with shaky hand,.

I study them,
So many, a booth full of them,
Small ones – birds, pools, flowers
Larger landscapes hang – of the sky, the forests, mountains.

And then my neighbor materializes,
Haggling with a bearded man,
My 5’3” Asian acquaintance from the apartment building
Who yells, animated, on his cellphone to someone in Mandarin
downstairs in the lobby some nights.

“Who painted these?” I ask him.
He replies, with eyebrows awash in brow,
Implying a punchline to the situation,
“I did! Haha!!...”

I shake his hand, appreciative,
Thinking how I must visit his apartment,
With 20 dollars in pocket, speak a few words,
Patronize the arts….