Expectations of History

poetry
  Sun  at  the end of the block.  And  my  life,  mo- mentarily lasting. A brief struggle, a snapped wing. The pressure of the future on my skin. Listening with…

What the Dead Leave

poetry
  You used to complain how memory liked to play games, calling me by the names of all your grandchildren. I, too, forget–– walking past the open door, still anticipating…

Memorial for Victoria High School

poetry
  This is the only thing I’ll say plainly: Our pasts are more than artifact. The rest is all broken / mineral fiber tiles revealing / in the ceiling /…

The Field Where I Was Most Alone

poetry
  There I was, utterly carless, walking one end of myself to the other. Cardinals in full bloom. The snow smelled like sunlight. I was in Iowa, or rather I…

Preservation Method

poetry
  It’s in the car while my lover drives that I see it: the carriage horse on its side on Dallas asphalt, the cars stopped behind it spilling concerned helpers,…

Your Birthday Came Around Again

poetry
  This was the year I thought I’d lose you after the doctor said what he said, his voice kind, his words like sandbags thrown at our chests. This was…

After Without You I’m Nothing

poetry
  sculpture by Yueting (Ada) Wu, RISD Museum You would’ve gone right in, but I’m waiting to see what others do. Against the gallery’s hospital white, this structure is a…

selkie bride

poetry
  Grandma Genny’s wedding gown lies in a crumpled mound in a brown paper bag in the back of her closet. Lucky for me I am there the day she…

Wildfire

poetry
  The boars were digging up the other side of the field, and already years have passed since the electrical discharge sitting atop a thunderstorm leaped across the forest overpacked…

[A corpse reclining on my couch.]

poetry
  A corpse reclining on my couch. I insert extra pillows behind his head until his jaw gapes slightly. I call my neighbor. She answers her phone twice daily: sunrise…