Next Step - Jan. 19, 2026

for twenty years, I stop

to chat nearly every day

as he sweeps his sidewalk

laughter alternates with juicy

bits of street news, the weather,

his disappointing sunflowers

a feral cat he feeds slinks

across his driveway as he

stoops to pet my dogs

I like him, so why haven’t I

invited him and his husband

over for dinner or drinks?

sometimes, the next step

in a friendship is when

the foot hovers, midair

and without logic, and

looking rather stupid,

never drops to the ground