So much you cannot set right
yesterday a dark space
you were weeping in the rain
but no one noticed
how the little things can destroy you
make you uneven
steadier hands
holding the sail
towards land
turned to water
dark bruise
who named you
gave me to you
as if I were a traded property
this nervous laugh
learned it early
if you seem like a happy child
no one will see the flame under your bed
home a story
of hospital gowns
and empty talking talking talking
blue in the face of strangers
who shout to be convinced of their bodies’
weight against the window pane
star blanket upstream
prayer flags riding pollution
through fall
and the only courage you can muster
is a rooftop poem
scratched in the side wall
we were here
we were real
we did the best we could.
