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a combination of inattention
fog-slick streets,
and the bravado of an impatient tailgater

a blurt of adrenaline that comes from seeing
not being
(un)able to avoid the car in front,
managing to swerve at the final moment before

impact
clip the corner,
bumper skittering off to the curb

checklist: license, insurance, don’t admit fault, exchange info, leave the scene.

The other guy didn’t care about all that.

I have never hit anyone in anger.
I didn’t want to hit this guy.  Again.
He wanted my wallet
grabbed for
(don’t admit fault)
cash reassurance instead of having insurance
to repair the damage I made
(don’t admit fault)

did this just turn from an accident to a mugging?
a happenstancial battery?

the illogic
demand
froze me

So I hugged him.
embraced him
wrested him
to the ground gently

The move felt elegantly slowly balletic
but came with bruised ribs, broken glasses, black eye
as he magically turned into four passenging kicking friends.
exchanging violent info

My stitches were removed immediately and eventually.

I had to laugh as they left the scene
The only thing he couldn’t check off the list was insurance.
I will never be whole again.
But,
Can I have some pieces back, please?
kiko i'm breathing
your lust's air
storms of our lifes
and our pasts

we share childhood memories
we sleep together
we feel each other

we are one body now
a body made of
two halves

we are one person now
no need to hide anything

playful lights
warm winds open windows
the ocean inside our body

we are coming together
KIKO -- WHERE ARE YOU?
COME BACK TO ME. PLEASE.
~
Precious Padma
You dearest aquatic flower
You grew in murky waters
Unblemished by its impurity
But come they did
To ****** your petals
And leave you a burning stem
Never can they take from you
The spirit of your plainsong
It continues to grow in your sisters
And in a time and season so near
They will sing your hymn
As one substantial voice
The changing winds will then
Lift it higher

~
On Thursday, December 5, 2019, a 23-year-old **** victim from Unnao, India was seized by five men, including the two people she had named in her previous complaint to the police, and beaten, stabbed and set on fire. Still ablaze, she walked nearly a mile, seeking help before finally calling the police herself. She later died in a New Delhi hospital, prompting protests of violence against women.
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