She walked toward me
up a dark staircase,
as I put away boxes
of too many things to own.

I saw her dark hair in my periphery
wearing a blue skirt,
white shirt, short sleeve,
and a vest of Aztec design.

She was tall and thin,
like Sharon, the woman
in the room down the hall
who hated me for eating meat.

Strange bird, Sharon –
Gray with two faces.
Still, I tried, as I always do
to change her heart.

Then, just as I was about to say
“Sharon, you changed your hair!”
she disappeared. Yes, just vanished
into thin air.

It wasn’t Sharon.