The bus ferried us in ochre arc
to the sitter's house, K---- beside
full of starling's chitter in her plum
paisley coat, eager to compare
scary books we both would steal.
When her father left to begin
a new life in Baltimore, she shared
in hellish halts about her mum
drinking from a lonely riptide
of terrible, unquenchable dark.
By the time my Huckleberry Finn
hooked her Halloween rabbit's tail,
she already guessed how love goes;
it took me 30 more years to know.
May 1
May 1, 2026 at 10:55 PM UTC
The bus ferried us in ochre arc
to the sitter's house, K---- beside
full of starling's chitter in her plum
paisley coat, eager to compare
scary books we both would steal.
When her father left to begin
a new life in Baltimore, she shared
in hellish halts about her mum
drinking from a lonely riptide
of terrible, unquenchable dark.
By the time my Huckleberry Finn
hooked her Halloween rabbit's tail,
she already guessed how love goes;
it took me 30 more years to know.
