Ali Shuffle; Or, When We Met

At the edge of the forest,
I saw a madrone bent by ancient winds
and remembered the way you danced
at the festival by the palace
when we met.

I wondered what you were doing —
whether you were serving tourists
in your family’s tavern —
whether you missed me.

When we made camp that night,
the firelight shimmered on cedar trunks,
and I saw your hair 
reflecting in the sunset again.

When we threw a fir branch on 
as it got dark, its pines popped so quick—
like your feet when the beat picked up—
like my heart when I saw you.

This poem is part of a collection called Shards of Kardpaz, which are texts I’ve written for the world of the Dungeons & Dragons campaigns I run with students at my school.