On a hot summer day the drone of a single plane flares the parched grass up into a familiar crackle,
often when the bugs and birds are too sore to sing.
There are dead corn beetles on the roof
and the wineberries are watching my every move.

Being at peace with
yourself is stopping to feed
the feral pigeons

Leave her, because she
will learn to love herself e-
-ven more without you

I’ll get a tattoo
that I cannot reach and ask
you for some lotion

The depth of their romantic inhibition
is cigarettes, coffee, and fleeting pda
on public transportation

Inconvenience is an American bliss;
They sit within the door’s armspan
She refused back surgery to avoid pain,
but winces at the ebb and flow of the train

Hacking, wheezing laughter,
littered with glittering profanities
Utterly, wholly American

The tap water isn’t cold enough, so bottled will have to do
The crickets and cicadas mock me for even having a mere thought of you
The cold sweat on my skin matches the love we used to feel
Shivering, damp, and innocent; can one say this was even real?

Weak for a week,
Because of no eye for an eye.
We both saw the truth,
But I'm so far from the sky.