with love
but even local bookstores haven’t been carrying this narrative
cloaked in dust & pretty new things
they wish to be
nourished like crisp beans
gentle in the belly
instead
like a brick in the chest
in the nod of a head
harsh & declarative
peaches never this sweet
a rainbow tally, a dewlit dream
hard to land
in a space too defined
hurt now, ample in concrete
tough to home
in this ache that won’t leave
spiked to ground
inside of disrespected trees.