Good night
Good morning
a new day has begun
I feel like
I’ve already won

from the greyhound
to grocery shopping
to our suite
we plan
for her birthday

where do we go
from here
his chair
breaks
under the strain

brushing
my teeth
I stop—
I'm in love
with two men

late night prayer
I wonder
if He hears me
a million other voices
calling His name

thankful only
to have you back
I sit
not saying anything
and chew the turkey you fried

your grandfather
eating pumpkin pie
so silently
I cry inside to think
what little time he has left

like old maids
meeting for coffee,
precariously perched
grackles gossip
on a stop sign

dark starlight
in your eyes
you ask me
what happened
in Afghanistan

give me a smile
I'll give one back
day after day
we hold each other up
your eyes remind me

spending the night
at my mom's
school seems
appealing again
to be back home

dinner
weighs me down
gravity
stronger than ever
powering down…

caffeine
so much to do
caffeine
so much to see
caffeine

good food
sitting next to you
we hold hands
I whisper in your ear
your mom hates me

I’m back home
where the night
is that much darker
and the moon
that much brighter

thumbing through
a Chekhov play
it hits me—
the Russians
call this comedy!

plum blossoms
I've got a thousand
paper cranes
hanging
in my heart

return to school
a sigh of relief
as I pour
myself
a glass of wine

waking up
to a text from her
I wonder how I could
have ever
complained

airport lobby
wearing your uniform
you seem
a little taller
than when you left

the everlasting question of
what to do with my life
my outgoing self
becomes shamefully
quiet

revolving door
so slow
to get to you.
why must these walls
be made of glass?

under
an old moon
you say
our love
is waning

giving thanks
‘round the table
at my house
as much sarcasm
as food before us

Dear John
letter
in shaking hands
she
signs it

wedding day
I witness a new union
they look so happy
I wonder if
I’ll get the chance

getting frustrated
dad takes the controller
from me
and beats my boyfriend
at canoeing

we are broke
we both know that
but every year we find
money
for one another

Chicago-style
holiday photos
we smile
annoyed
at dad

life moves so fast
better stop now
while I’m ahead

the ambling tortoise
moves ahead of the hare