chubby fingers point to the freckles among a dark curtain

the smallest one asks the name of each fire

the tallest of the children

uses his brains

he paints them a story

and tells them its planes

the second child

won’t believe a lie

she rambles about a needle

poking holes in the sky

the smallest one

begins to sigh

his magical imagination

beginning to die

they come up with theories looking miles...

i need to get the mail

i close the door behind me

i walk down the steps of my porch

without my house key

leaning down to the box

an empty space

i assume the mailman

has slowed his pace

i turn to the door

it doesn’t really matter

the mail will get here eventually

suddenly i hear a patter

now it rains

my mail will arrive drenched

i forgot about the deadbolt lock

the door handle i wrenched

at fi...

let time reverse

let the mouth try again

the heart is pounding

louder than twenty men

the stomach feels tender

and weak as it falls

the throat escapes

as if sliding down walls

question the mind

why can it run on its own

close the lips over words

for the next mistake is unknown...

my past haunts me

like a ghost does its grave

i see it on every corner

of every room

it follows me

like a lost pet

the places it used to go

peter pan shadowed

the places it walked

stomping memories it abandoned

left deep footprints in the ground

they grow dark and hollow...

we walk together

in a sea of faces

we worry about

our unseen impurity

if all of us

are conscious

do we even

notice each other

think solely

of yourself

the sea

will too...

sapphire scenery

neptune must hold

composed of ice

summers are cold

cobalt world

your diamond tears

set you apart

from rocky peers

ultramarine giant

do you flourish with creation

or are you forgotten

across an empty nation

roman god of the sea

you take your lonely course

orbit in darkness

with your dashing force...

the mother takes hold of her daughter’s arm, pulling her into a crowd of women and children. “the ship is sinking” the panicked mother signs for her daughter. silent screams and open mouths, hurried escapes into rescue boats. she hears nothing, but understands everything still. the vibration of expensive shoes clacking against the boats’ slowly disappearing floor. the girl closes her eyes, holding...