Two of us were left behind: Moe, the surly

fire-swallower, and me. We shared no tongue.

I fetched the wood, he roasted the scallops.

We sat alone, saying nothing, sharing no thing

but the heat and the stars, everywhere.

Years later, a TV crew wanted to know our secret.

This brought out quite another side in Moe.

He was getting emotional, they had him in a close-up

and at the end of a long, stuttering sentence

the translator gasped and looked at me, mouth open.

I came through the whole experience wiser.

But yes, for a long time, my throat burned like crazy.