Yesterday, yes, I still existed here:
in this pitiful winestain,
in these paupered words
way past their prime,in that handshake which I
will never manage to hold
in any of my handbooks,

and which under my table leads
the still life of a retired
country doctor.

Go on, admit it:
yesterday you also existed here,

when the sun turned up humming
and we took in the fact that
neither one of us, in this circus,
dared fight
the bear.