Reliable

9 AM
I go downstairs
of the building
housing eight
rent-controlled
one bedroom
homes
Our little dormitory
of mid-thirty year olds
working to save the world
Tyler is awake
And thankfully has made coffee
I hand him the pack I bought
in Colombia
We sit on the couch
Facing an off TV
Its early for both of us
For a Saturday morning
We converse
I can feel his care
like the sticky
scent of rain
he is gentle
steady
serious
as he listens
I know his words
Are chosen
His thoughts are
Delicate
Attempting to separate
What is
from what I say to him
as his perfectly brewed
dark selected coffee
wakes my tongue
his attention
is neither
forced
nor polite
the light of the apartment
sits on his photos from sudan
I know he is awaiting his phone
Call from her
In Uganda
As he does every weekend
his loyalty to
the authentic
life
seeps into me
the phone rings
I will see him later