Exchange

in Nässjö, in a park by a lake
a black headscarf fails to wrap away her beauty—
the Arabic woman on the swing

as I approached her
she spoke to me
in English
I misunderstood
under the impression that she was telling me to go away
that she wanted this idle
suspicious-looking character
to get away from her this instant

as I hesitated
I made sense of the last part
of what she was saying
she was asking me
whether I wanted a turn on the swing
offering
to get off the swing for me

how I wanted to walk over
and give her a push
so that the Arabic woman
on the swing
would go a little higher

but after thinking it over
I gave up on the idea

EXCHANGE