1

the crowded airport
he turns
my heart drops

2

my night
is your morning . . .
when do I brush my teeth?

3

Dad's voice
carries me
home

4

I cross my legs
on the wood pew,
damn this dress

5

healing old wounds
a pair 
of new sneakers 

6

prince of her dreams
the one who wields
the sword

7

sidewalk snow storm
our cold hands
in the same glove

8

my skate leaves
the floor
lets me rest

9

12 a.m.
the children sing
Silent Night

10

sticky night
hay stuck
in uncomfortable places

11

I cast a
love spell
banana bread

12

exhausted
she snores
in the barn loft

13

Chicago skyrise
the only time she's felt
on top of the world

14

your birthday gift
repurposed
as a memorial

15

laying next to you
I smile
about nothing

16

wind
a horse's neigh
her first memory

17

melancholy weekend
dirty dishes
under the bed

18

she kisses him
I
turn the radio up

19

marked for life
the punctuation
shines through my wrist

20

warm glow in the east
I breathe
the morning sunbeams

21

golden rays across
calm waters . . .
she shoves me in

22

I splash through the puddles
where once
an oak stood

23

he glances up as she passes
a ghost—
never his

24

feuilles d'automne
falling
I slip on damp concrete

25

evening campfire
our first kiss
sparks fly

26

wildflowers tied
by a blade of grass hidden
behind my back

27

Mount Everest
at the end
of my cul-de-sac

28

unrequited love
my heart tucked in your
jean's back pocket

29

2 am
tuesday night
he comes back to me

30

cold winter night
a spotlight illuminates
the snowy dancers

31

shout along
love songs
I pretend to know

32

roundabout way
of saying
you're on your own

33

dozens of old love letters
fall to the floor
new year's eve

34

fleeting glimpse
    never enough
        hummingbirds

35

summer evening—
lit cigarette
and comfortable silence

36

awkward slow dance
platonic . . . "love"
middle school

37

annoying speech
man can you just let me
talk

38

she does debate club
he throws rocks at trains
love at first sight

39

I made a mistake
trusting you to be gentle
skin of glass

40

target for wolves
I sneeze at the
wrong time

41

time to question
square block
in circular hole

42

carefully wrapping
her mother's teacup—
the long drive home

43

small and dim
potential worlds
in the static

44

she tells me she's a lap dog
the marks on my thighs
say otherwise

45

sound and fury
but no raindrops
in the dark

46

for the first time
I wish I was numb
mom walks around the block

47

ancient pines
stretching skyward
I read amongst their roots

48

slip and slide in the backyard
over rocks
knees covered in bruises

49

looking down
from the clouds
tiny ants

50

never too late
to ride the train
the library closed at 2

51

leaves crunch under
our feet
“i don't have any change, sorry”

52

sunlight filters through trees
illuminating her smile
sweater weather

53

a table
that's set for two
her dress drags on the floor

54

eighth birthday
my sister tells me
I am a witch

55

winter's pout 
the storms we 
never saw coming

56

quarantine in bed 
sixty messages
unopened 

57

I grasp my sister
tighter
while we pray

58

family dinner 
pouring salt
into the wound 

59

I breathe in
their laughter—
      the smell of rain

60

my tears soak
her black fur,
she licks them away

61

return home
the smell
I used to wear

62

roaring river behind
my childhood home
littered creek

63

bipolar mother
night sky—venus
flytrap

64

rips in the plaster walls
ghosts
of my ambition

65

vintage dress
dimmed muslin
ghost

66

summer love
wildflower
crushed under my boot

67

driving to see
Christmas lights
. . .          is this cheating

68

dancing
under a streetlight
            three a m

69

swipe left
on another
fishing picture

70

he doesn't remember
sayin              it
first

71

the homily is lost
on me
and my wandering eyes

72

the macarena circle
of dateless girls
glad to breathe

73

a deer
hits the ground
I do not move

74

leaves rustle
not a squirrel
. . . this time

75

I spin the globe—
      one day I will
      change the world

76

two in the morning
    wide awake
a calculus problem

77

you push and pull
I bend and break
     s h a t t e r e d   g l a s s

78

my hoodie engulfs him
a boat
on the cozy sea

79

preemie diapers
the best band aid
I rewrap his ankle

80

if you feel
StOoPiD
you're doing it right

81

stage fright
I pirouette past
my fears

82

my yellow top . . .
powdered sugar dusts
your smile

83

powdered sugar smile—
all I want is
you

84

thrift store
first date
second hand

85

      end of watch.
now with angel's wings,
        he begins

86

mom jeans
dad sweater
daughter's wardrobe

87

she butt-dials her ex . . .
with her fingers . . .
deliberately.

88

hoodie and hair down, I hide

89

hot noodles
burn our hands
lasagna

90

breathbecomesviolent and s l o w s

91

dinner table tales
I want him
to stay

92

never-been-kissed . . .
no one
has ever been worth it

93

maybes almosts and what ifs
one day
we will be infinite

94

grandma's favorite mug
    behind the hydrangeas
        and the daisies
            and the rosebush

95

alleyway thoughts
and
then
I

fall

again

96

long drive way
to the old home place
mound of fire ants