In the apartment with the / windows facing / the bright white church, cross and / solitary steeple, he wakes and makes a / bed that’s too small and yet too big / for the two of them, him and her, / in a city where she’s at home / and he’s not. / When she visits / he reads to her; / she cuts his / toenails, / paints them pink / reads chapters from his books, / calls him “Maestro” and / “An American Master.” / Not the first time / he has heard such comments. / Is she conning him? And is he / conning her when he says / “I love you” and / “You’re beautiful.”