Minnehaha Park is hot in the summer
Even by the water
Who knew it would be so hot
Even down by the water?
But all of it is hot

And there are acorns everywhere
Scattered on the ground
Below our butts as we try to sit
And have a little picnic
On a brightly checkered blanket
Between two tall trees
That tower above us
And grant us shade
While pelting acorns down
Into our cheese and crackers

And fancy rosé wine
Whatever that means
I thought wine was wine
But I guess they have personalities
Like people
Like couples
Some things pair well together
Like my crisp pineapple and cheap ******' pizza
Or your stinky blue cheese and weird cookie-like *******
Like us

And the cheese sits on a green marble slab
Elegant as ****
Because that's just who you are
But that marble slab sits on top of a pizza box
Simple as ****
Because that's just who I am
And we pair well
On this hot *** summer day
While we drink rosé
And "I love you" is all we say
Because sometimes we don't have to say anything
We're okay without words
In the middle of a park
On a hot *** summer day

Well,
four parts to be exact

I left three chunks of skin

And my old favorite hat

We drank too much Svedka
As we waded in the banks

The broken glass inside my hand
Was the closest thing to "thanks"

Four in the morning,
Too drunk for the E.R.

The stitches you put in my hand
Will forever leave a scar

You said letting yourself go
Was the best way to spend the day

But Katie, when I look at you
I only see someone who's run away

I thought I could help you find a home
Behind the Minnehaha Falls and flats

But I think I only lost myself

And, of course, my favorite hat

Raphael held my hand as I stood
at the shore
All manner of life carried the news
of the good Earth , felled to one knee ,
spellbound before living waters
The cascading word of God ,
showered before me ...

This fruit from Assam,
This sour species of
Evergreen,
Don’t forget I was a
Child hugging their mother,
Watching her eat you
As she read ‘Salem’s Lot.

Remember I rode horses
With her in Carver,
And we fed them apples
In our winter coats.
Remember she took me
To museums
And stood behind while
I read about Chippewa
And wild rice paddies,
About Leech lake
And the Battle of Sugar Point,
About Minnehaha
Hiawatha,

And…

I went with her to Disney World
And she sat with me
While my asthma stung,
Listening to Orlando rain.
I smelled pine on the
Rag used to wipe
Her forehead.
I watched the Chemo
Needle take her vein.
I ate you silently
The morning she.

Sister of Citron,
Know that I will never
Forget the sound of her teeth
And hard candy,
the
Click
the
Clack
the Yellow Heart,

the Sound of You.