The Swear Word

The swear word she selected
Surprised me.
I had not expected someone
As slight
As feminine as she
Could even know phonics
Like that.
The way she formed that word
Made it sound appropriate
Even cute
Though it is not.

I raised a brow.
I smiled.
I even laughed a little.

She cocked her head
At my response
So I felt the need to explain.

How could someone as delicate
As you
Even know the meaning of so low a word?

It was now her turn
To raise a brow
To laugh a little.

Our conversation took needful turns
And drifted into some fascinating narrows.
I marveled
At how deftly she maneuvered
Our discourse
Our interaction.

She handled me with the skill
Of a true craftsman.
Before I realized what she was doing
She had pared my biography like an apple
Every detail opening to her
Easily
Painlessly.

Reciprocation was in order.

The next several weeks
And months
Were spent exploring the ways
Our paths wended and intersected.

She never again used that word
That first caused me to look up
Arch a brow
And smile.

Though she clearly understood its meaning.