my grandfather was also
born in may, you know
a stubborn bull
might just be fed up.
from what i’ve seen
they have every right to be

tolerance, then suffering
his lymph nodes grew too fast
"i'll never smile again" i told my father in the car
i don’t remember saying it, only feeling
grief.
we stopped at the reliably empty house
and sat on her porch to purge it all

i was born in may
and my grandfather now resides in our garden
a ceramic bull who takes no ****