1

back to breath
time starts
again

2

crow on a wire fence
tilts his head at me
and laughs

3

skinned hands
bike ride into
mom's garden

4

storied stones
bones
for my mother's tales

5

she lifts her mask
to blow out
the single candle

6

remote control—
I ask my brother
to fetch me water

7

hawk overhead
do I
look like food?

8

grave fireflies
we talk about souls
trapped inside a body

9

before cellphones
    t e x t i n g
  on a calculator

10

park walk
my father stops—
at every memorial bench

11

sitting on the porch
six-feet         apart
laughing despite it all

12

divorce
a pretty heavy topic
for the barbie household

13

playing one-sided
hide-and-seek
with a squirrel

14

looking glass
the window in my bedroom
holds a face unseen

15

the boy
holds me upside down
new perspective

16

best friends
holding hands
they scream
         l e s b i a n s

17

running home
. . .

into your arms

18

podcast in one ear
true crime
in the other

19

The World
      is darker
            without your shadow

20

fleeting sunlight
throwing rocks at her window
until it breaks

21

a metronome
his breath
holds me tight

22

somewhere 
in the silent room
a still small voice 

23

not really gone
just
on the water

24

sleepless night
and the howling
midnight train

25

angel at the
foot of my bed
hardly romantic

26

unconventional date
my chapstick cap and
dust bunnies

27

lilac blossoms . . .
on the shingles,
the pat of rain

28

photo with a
            tilt
artsy polaroid

29

Wanted: non-feminist
I guess I'm not
his girl

30

bedazzled skull
guarding
the keurig

31

shadows in the window
shoes by the door
we lay on the couch

32

starry night sky
she sneaks a glance at me
and smiles

33

fallen autumn leaves
the wind
helps them dance

34

my brother's trip
detour
Thomas the Tank Engine

35

Great Expectations
of who I'll be
fake it for them

36

he tells me he's
stargazing . . .
I look up

37

so much time
for our living
through someone else

38

the crow calls
student trudging along
looking for corpses

39

space scientist—
better stay up there
earth is kinda fucked

40

broken AC
I avoid
the mirrors

41

wild west
unforeseen mess
near the wagon

42

somehow, somewhere
things are better
it's snowing on mt. fuji

43

the blood of Christ
tastes a lot like
grape juice

44

old soup pot
at the bottom, it smells like
snow days

45

One Direction poster
pinned to the ceiling
her childhood sweetheart

46

butterfly rests on a stone
      careful
mom whispers

47

setting the mood
dinner and a show
and a snail's love dart

48

ashes on Lake Street
black
men kneel where he died

49

reeds whistle
singing the morning
back to life

50

blurry images
I remember
grabbing for the toy train

51

rebellious grape
look at him go
raisin hell

52

dropped at the door
crying into my shirt
I try papier-mâché

53

pines snapped in two
I see the lake
where I couldn't before

54

Newsflash Garfield
nobody
likes Mondays

55

toy jail
the plush cat hidden
under my thighs

56

shooting stars
did the dinosaurs'
wishes come true?

57

dandelion        nemesis of fireflies

58

Christmastime
I steal
a cookie from the table's army

59

broken hearts and
ripped pants
jeans are full price.

60

her laugh
birds
through a paper shredder

61

big window
blue
treehouse

62

river of anger 
running out of us  
let's just sleep 

63

art fair
in front of her portrait
grass worn down

64

birds chirping—
the last page turns
          the sun back on

65

abortion parking lot
volunteer braves the wrath
of “God”

66

rhythmic creaking
at 2 AM
the gamer boy listens

67

first date nerves
but the French onion soup
washes that away

68

correct
but I become a mouse
squeak

69

10th grade English class
one black kid
explains racism

70

She's seventy-five
and I
can't be there

71

the darkness of space
do aliens
think about us

72

holding hands
it fits
like a glove

73

man-splaining
to another man
doesn't go as well

74

orange glow
contrasting the moonlight
smoke in his lungs

75

old man's
unconsented stare
I ask my friend if she's okay

76

crush's bedroom
seventh grade
he      lives      here

77

my heart is out
(always yours)
claddagh ring

78

first kiss
on my front porch
I brush my teeth

79

i love pizza
no cap
how bout that

80

attached to one another
Hey Siri
how do snails have sex?

81

I mean, fuck Amazon
but they put it back on
Addams Family Values

82

the world does not
revolve around him
                anymore

83

I can taste
the food in my dream
homesick

84

no
halloween is    not
cancelled

88

look left
            and right
fingers inching towards mom's candy bowl

89

candy buffet
we turn into superheroes
for the night

90

tea light candles . . .
only candy wrappers in the
plastic pumpkin

91

jack-o-lantern
the fire burning
inside his smile

92

orange faces
glowing
I blow out the tealight

93

witches, ghouls, and vampires
line the darkened streets
all four feet tall

94

masked neighbor hiding
in the gangway
chainsaw!

95

knife in hand
grimacing
I avoid the pumpkin guts

96

gourds my friend named
sit side-by-side on
the windowsill