one two three
a loop in my head
i count my steps
to the grave

one two three
breaths in a row
faltering
atlas under a globe of grief

one two three
the mortician mutters
hitting the lever
a box in descent

one two three
relatives
trail off
weaving through the stones

one
matriarch in shambles
a perfect pietá
lingering by the hollow

two
a couple broken
separated
by the greatest door

three*
wails punctuate her sentence
goodbye bill
I’ll always love you

You called me sugar
but sweetened your tea with **honey

her blooming figure gyrating
arcing, tilting, wilting above;
my tasting her secreting prose,
licking all the lines

that come
and go

like fallen petals hugging themselves
in moonglow spell,
lit with an aftercoil meld, blueblack waters stilled

the world is your oyster
take the pearl
and I’ll just lie here in the sand
an empty shell
once again