Polite

She answers everything I ask
with few words,
no extra splash of detail,
nothing of how you linger
over conversation you’re enjoying,
that way people have of no longer swimming hard
towards the destination of the other shore,
the end of this talk,
but floating,
showing off handstands and somersaults,
or treading water
just to enjoy the silky feel of
words swirling around in little eddies.