“I listen to the sharp buzz of fluorescent lights / Absorb the terrain of shelves / Dodge the bodies…”

“So much was lost in the heatwave. The dirt wouldn’t take the water, as if already surrendering…”

“Rain patters as callused fingers glide // Drifting arrives a scent of willow…”

“I sit in a garden of half-assed patchwork, Of decades of just-enough maintenance // And occasional fits of resolutions to clean things up…”

“My lolo is here. He is always here in stillness. The sharp contrast of his voice to the trees. In the driveway of our family home, he waved at every passerby…”

“I’ll amplify you, Carer in contrast. Scraped across winter’s bunkers…”

“That west end of the island // never looked // the same after a storm…”

“I saw the way grief entered your body—all at once and consuming—and stayed, eating you away. I prayed it wouldn’t bury you…”