161.

The wrong apparition at my window;
I am saving all of my forgiveness
for you.

160. Tuesday.

I come home, cook some eggplant
on the stove, and cry,
and cry, and cry. There is a lump of saliva
or tears in my throat and I cannot remember
the last time I've done this.
I cannot remember if I am human
and if this is for you and the smoke
alarm sounds and it's over.

We do not even speak anymore
in my sleep. By the time it is light enough
to see the blossoming of my wallpaper
I only recall blue eyes and hands
everywhere. I write these poems
because I have no place else to go.

159.

Still at the bottom of the sea, still
forcing out syllables into
the salt.

I hope she tells you
about my dress and my joy
and that it stirs something up
out of the sand.

As if we still shared
the same ocean or were pulled
by the same moon.

158. Haiku: On survival.

If I am living
in the belly of the wolf
where does that leave you?

157.

I have no honey, nor
confessions.
How can I
call someone darling
without the taste of your name
in my mouth?

156.

I have not been sleeping
again. When I do,
I see white houses, the lake,
storms. I touch the tops
of trees. I am here, there.
Here.

155.

Say the sea has a name
outside of language,
and I am afraid
to be the last one
to speak it.