NOTES FOR A POEM ABOUT LN

At our first meeting you wore
Sea weed. Your black cat,
Hamlet, had long fangs
And tangled fur. He looked
Ferocious but was friendly.
Because there were no forks

In all of Boulder, Colorado,
I learned to use chopsticks.
You once spent two years
In a body cast. The house

Where you grew up
Was turretted and had ghosts.
Membership in your family
Varied widely; brothers
And sisters and cousins
Shuttled in and out. Once
We shared a meal at which
The main course was

Watermelon rind, pickled.