Old Ruth on the lake
High on a hill
Plum tree pregnant
And ready to spill

Suddenly
Cicadas calling
Out of the blue

My bones fall through
Collapse I
Am made new

I’m getting a breeze now, reading outside
BUT
a mosquito bite
Only one, thankfully
To the inner left knee


And back of the right calf
Two

More often than not
And never
In two places at once
For everything I have,
I’ve won
And everything I’ve lost,
I’ve given away

I love you
As I love you
As I love you
As I love you
Always
And all of the time
That I do
And that I don’t,
Too

Then the streetlight went out
It was finally dark in my room
And I knew it was you and your slingshot

You are two people
And I only love one
So what do I do
When I can’t have you
Without you?

“You don’t have to leave”
Yeah, well,
I’ve already started the car

How to Purposefully Get in Your Own Way — Unintentionally:

Good morning, You
A person of interest in the crimes against my heart

I guess, she said
That it doesn’t matter
But I don’t mind repeating myself
I hope you enjoy your sack lunch
That I packed myself with lots of love
Pistachios, for the envy I feel that you go out into the world to be enjoyed by hearts other than mine