why wear a red dress
when you can wear
a red canoe?
*
trying to memorize
these waves and the way they rise—
already distracted by those waves
*
casting for fish
I hook my own loneliness—
it steals the bait, swims away
*
I tell myself
I would have jumped in
if the boat hadn’t tipped first
*
I could swim better
if I let go
of this paddle
*
just when you think
you’ll never forget, all that you
can remember later
is that there was something
very special not to forget
