no, i will not miss it,
though i’ll crave replacements,

do you still study
stars

through the roof of
your rustproof
civic?

or are you racing home
to meet curfew?

are his eyes still
blue?

said i’d never
miss it

but i
do.

a pumpkin
smile,

gent tilts his
head,

as if his turn
in game,

on chipped tooth bench,
lunch clasped
in palm,

cloaked in
trees,

shaded by
leaves,

knows not where
he’s from

or how he’s come
to be..

so infant-eyed
and free.

bonfire of dead
letters

unearthed and
torched

sending specters to
their slumber,

we
breathless
blowing embers
,

may dawn reach us
where we
shiver,

eyes shaded out
by smoke.

my face like a
freezer,

stuffed with tv
dinners,

cooking like a teenager
binging on
tiktok,

this room could use
a dimmer,

this late into the
evening,

i don’t feel like
eating..

so i chew on
rocks.