My father says
all rivers lead to the sea,
But I am afraid
of boats and piranha teeth.

The whitewater ends
far out in the forest
where fairies grow rings
over the graves killers dug

And I feel like I'm looking up
at police officers, thinking
that they have finally found me.

But they are burying me
beneath the excuses I have made,
I can feel the levees of blood break
to carry me away from them forever.

The last lesson I teach myself
is how to regret.