Did She Have a Name

I live at infelicitous levels of abstraction.
Instead, for example, of knowing a friend’s last name
I remembers countries such surnames usually come from.
I look down at her and say, ‘You cannot do that
semantically.’ She had said that she was leaning on the floor.
She says, ‘Should I’ve said I’m lying? I say, ‘What?’
We take tin cans connected by a string
long enough to let us go to separate rooms
and phone each other. Did she have a name?
We agree she did. I say, ‘Maybe it expired.’

Did I Have a Name

She lives at infelicitous levels of abstraction.
Instead, for example, of knowing a friend’s last name
she remembers countries such surnames usually come from.
She looks down at me and says, ‘You cannot do that
semantically.’ I’d said that I was leaning on the floor.
I say, ‘Should I’ve said I’m lying? She says, ‘What?’
We take tin cans connected by a string
long enough to let us go to separate rooms
and phone each other. Did I have a name?
We agree I did. She says, ‘Maybe it expired.’