The Half-Inch Giant for Agha Shahid Ali

by D. K. McCutchen

Not a poet, me.
Never was,
But he listened kindly
Heard the tight throat
Dedicating words
To a beloved
Person,
Newly lost.
He said it
Wickedly,
“Very poetic,”
Shocking me dry – eyed.
And he giggled
Again,
And again,
Until I, laughing,
Missed the sound
The swish and clatter,
Even the echo
Of him.