POEM: (—)

(—)

I look up from my laptop in time
to see a cat peering in the window.
The sun is setting behind it.

A two-headed, three-armed bear
lies beside my stuffed mouse namesake.
Signs of care from far away.

On the radio, the Red Sox play the Reds,
who are, sadly, not communists.
They’re from Cincinnati.

(I had to look up “Cincinnati”
to make sure I put enough n’s in it.
There are three, but I wasn’t sure.)

I drove from Pennsylvania to Maryland
to West Virginia to Virginia.
The rain increased with each state line.

It’s been years since I last felt safe.
It’s been a lifetime since I knew what I was doing.
It’s been minutes since I last thought about—

/ / /

30 May 2023
Charlottesville VA