Alone in Rio

If you were here,
Sugarloaf Mountain would be
All the sweeter,
And ‘Christ the Redeemer’
Could relax his arms.
We would make love in the heat,
Then sleep.
Instead I sweat out old battles under
The sheet.

If you were here,
The air conditioning would not blow,
Hot and fever cold.
We would have been upgraded to First,
And I would have ventured beyond the hotel,
For something to eat.

If you were here,
We would be drinking this
city together.
From a bar overlooking
Copacabana,
In wide screen format,
Making up words to ‘The Girl From Ipanema.’

But instead, I’m sharing photos with you, who is
Half way around the world
Of places half-heartedly been,
Half-seen,
Without you.

If only you were here.