May 2023

What we did to the earth, we did to our daughters
one after the other.

What we did to the trees, we did to our elders
stacked in their wheelchairs by the lunchroom door.

What we did to our daughters, we did to our sons
calling out for their mothers.

What we did to the trees, what we did to the earth,
we did to our sons, to our…

until there were none left
and we had to breed them
in captivity. Nature continued
to re-evolve its crab. Possum
hands insisted on looking
like ours for no good reason.
It’s not that we let ourselves
down. But there was something
predictable about us. Our smiles
identically involuntary while texting
back. Our selfsame habit,
describing…

Dogs barking do you hear me do you hear me yes I do
the abridged version, sun having shone all day on their chains.
Late-lunch squirrels lathing loquats
with their buck front teeth and carrots

disappearing from the community garden for seasonal soups
no one likes to eat, least of all me. Unless there is good country bread
of course…