Friendship & Other Unknowable Places
Astronauts grow more and more dependent
on hot sauce the longer they’re in space.
In cyberspace I buy a blouse you’d like
with a pattern of succulents neon-blooming
in boob and crooked phallus ceramics.
I’ve never believed my feelings
existed as much as yours.
On my birthday I pull a card and sigh.
Poor sword! Stuck in lavender sand
up to its gilded hilt. I have to walk away.
In the deep, dark sea, corals are alive
because they never live alone.
They create sunshine for each other.
Diagnosis at the Walk-in Clinic
This pale pink scab
rash may or may not
be shingles,
stress and sad
induced pustules
scribbling across
my upper arm.
Whatever you want
to call the harm,
there’s nothing
to be done now,
the doctor says.
I press for more
details. I guess just
rest and self-awareness?
The antiviral window
has closed. To be safe
avoid being around
babies, children,
and adults who never
scratched themselves
as children. You are
a danger to some people
but not to others.
