She expects his voice to fall from his lips like purple silk
As it did from across the room
Instead, it stitches a blanket that gently wraps around her,
Altogether new and somehow familiar
Red, she decides

The current of the crowd flows unnoticed around her ankles
Her vision narrows to include a single face
She is immersed in this place where
words can feel warm,
And she absolutely hates herself for it

Outside, her tears struggle to escape
and dance in the rain
A beginning dissolves into the New York night
Inside, a woman stands and removes a blanket
From where it lays discarded in the dust

She carefully holds it up to the light
and wonders
How she never before noticed its vivid hue
She hesitantly drapes the fabric around
her bare shoulders
Altogether familiar, and somehow new
Red, she realizes