What are we waiting for? "May 2nd" - A Poem a Day for National Poetry Month

It's National Poetry Month, and to celebrate, I'm sharing a poem each day. This particular one rings true for me because the imagery is so simple but so clear. I like that it sounds like a confession; words left unsaid that you really wish you could admit. It makes me wonder whether this was about a woman he never knew but admired from afar, or a woman he had a relationship with but maybe never really let himself be open of heart and open his mouth to speak these thoughts. I love the way he plays with the word gamble; we can gamble tangible things like money, but we can also gamble the intangible, and what we lose is much harder to anticipate. 

"May 2nd" by David Lehman

Someday I'd like to go
to Atlantic City with you
not to gamble (just being
there with you is enough
of a gamble) but to ride
the high white breakers
have a Manhattan and listen
to a baritone saxophone
play a tune called "Salsa
Eyes" with you beside me
on a banquette but why
stop there let's go to
Paris in November when
it's raining and we read
the Tribune at La Rotonde
our hotel room has a big
bathtub I knew you'd like
that and we can be a couple
of unknown Americans what
are we waiting for let's go