We're Looking

We told him she was on Bassett Street
Between the used book store
And the second-hand clothing store
Across from the gelato emporium

He put a push-pin in the map
Even though the map is eighteen years old
And Bassett street no longer intersects
With Cohaset Street anymore

As soon as the pin was in
He went rushing out the door
Down the four flights of stairs
To try and catch her
Before she left for the Shangri-la
In his mind

We do this to him
And we don't know why
We like the guy
But it annoys us
How we're supposed to be
His 24/7 ex-patrol

Have we seen her at the mall?
Have we seen her downtown?
Have we seen her jogging
Maybe near the college?

We never do
And we resent being asked
But we like the guy
So we also tell him that we see her
When we never see her

There are push-pins
All over the wall
Past the place
Where the map ends

It's like we saw her near the clock
It's like we saw her near the Rambo poster
It's like we saw her near the bookcase
It's like she's everywhere
Except in his room
Where he'd like her

Back to the night of the fight
When he let her walk out
And she walked into nowhere
And never came back

He never gets discouraged
Never challenges us
Never asks how she looked
What she was wearing
Why we didn't try and stop her

Maybe he knows
Maybe he knows we're lying
Maybe that's okay with him
Maybe he knows that sometimes
A door only closes once

And if he asked us
If we've seen her
We know what we'd say

We're looking

We'd say
We're looking