A Picket Fence

one can look through the slats sideways,
like she looks over at him, hoping he won't notice
her freckles, a blush to her cheeks,
that she likes him.
the sun comes in sideways, too, long
shadows splay themselves across the lawn
in the late afternoon and he can't see the
children playing, only hear their shrieks of
laughter, the sound of a dog barking,
he wonders if he is nipping at their heels.
he is alone as he walk, she is lonely as she
looks sideways at him in the cafe, through
the slats of her solitary life.