POETRY

“Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful.”
—Rita Dove
Snow Falls from Branches

Should have found a job by now; should have slept in the night;
should have boiled old coffee before noon.

Babylon

If America is Babylon / and you are an exile / newly arrived among pagans / Catholic, ‘Ngolan, Black, woman / you already know how to pray

necromancer woman, witch woman

In my universe, my arm carries a heart and flowers,
my back a misguided quote

I Garden at the Edge of Autumn

There is so little left of the tomato plants.

Lobster

I suffer visions and many indignities
while looking for the Lobster

On the Night Row-Houses Across the Street Catch Fire

You let the yellow glow
from eye sockets. The building up the street
is burning faster and faster.

REVENGE SCENE

Okay, picture this: We’re in an elevator. The elevator shuts down. It doesn’t matter where we’re going, only that we’re alone.

Time Travel

I count my homes—
those of my scattered youth
the sanctuary of our young family
the intermittent rest stops
of apartments and vacations.

I could, even now, go down to the water

Even from this distance I could go out
the door it would bang shut and crumble

things they won’t tell you but should:

love is a soggy tea stain on a grocery receipt

close up of sun
Mercury in Retrograde

You said it was okay to blame
what goes wrong on the planet

Fallout Shelter

I imagined a cascade of slow death for all / that mattered…

Sadness is a Sin

If my life was the size of my arm, I would stretch it out for you.

The love of my life moved from portland to new england

He has stories that I am not in
anymore. It’s healed this way.

oh Manifesto

The collective
failure
of ethical standards

Back Suplex

Gravel-scatted hell &
we were blessed to be able
to hold on for even a heartbeat

Despairathon

You’ve spent a lifetime training
for this.

Unerased | Steep Steps

My grandmother asked, “Does it feel like being widowed?”