Category: free verse
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wingbeat wingbeat
i wake before the lightbecause the light is lateand i have things to sayall night the branch held methin as a thoughtbut morningmorning splitsgreen everywheregreen pushing through woodthrough soilthrough memoryi shake myself loosefeathers cracklethe sky opensand i cannot hold iti singtrill-trill-trillsee-see-seebright-bright-brighti throw my throat into the airhere i amhere i amhere i amthe worms wrigglethe…
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first loves
we don’t talk about them muchthe ones who taught our heartshow to mispronounce forever.they smelled like folded dresses,faintly of naphthaleneand said things like alwaysand promiseand meant ituntil they didn’t.and now every songis a door we don’t open,every photographa city we can’t go back to.but godfor a momentdidn’t it feellike we invented love?
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the math of us
there used to be fourthat’s how most families beginfour peoplesharing one roofone tableone stubborn historyand no one tells youthat fouris just a temporary numbera seasona brief agreementbefore the worldstarts doing its subtractionbecause timedoesn’t askwho’s readyit just movessteadilylike it’s got somewhere to beand one dayfour becomes threethen twothen oneand the last person standingdoesn’t get a medalor…
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ordinary glory
i wake up before the alarm’cause the birds don’t believe in schedules.they just singlike rent’s paidand peace is permanent.i stretch my bodylike signing a treatybetween my bones and the daylight.coffee first’cause prayer without caffeineis too abstract.i check the inbox:yesterday’s emails look back at melike old regretsand i tell them, hush,we’re learning patience today.outside, the mail…
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the morning i watered the plant
i didn’t think much of itjust poured what was left in the glassonto that dusty stemthat hadn’t bloomed in two yearsit leaned, tiredlike it had decided silencewas easier than trying againi wiped the leaves with my shirttold it,“you still here, huh?”and went on making coffeeby the time i came backone leaf had straightened itselflike somebody…
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