we have a thing
a living thing
we don’t know what else to call it
it’s unlike any living thing
that life did ever posit

it surfaced on a liquid night
our heads were swimming in the stars
and once back down on solid ground
the thing was sleeping
at our feet

now it tails us everywhere
hides inside a gaze
feeds on time,
heaving hips,
musings on a page

it grows; glows
invisibly
with each ******* sigh
untangles every simple thought
a human could desimplify

we're told the thing is ours to keep
can’t be robbed or gifted
can’t be sheltered, nonetheless
from hungry eyes
from destiny

I woke up this morning.
the thing is nowhere
to be found